i probably shouldn't pluralize the subject of today's update - in reality it's just my old flame rebecca, up in new england from awful, hot, prefab arizona. we had curry for dinner - the lao market had a new brand of dried long chili in and they're very nice - deep red (almost black) and giant. the problem is that one bag only makes about one curry. and they're cripplingly expensive - $1.39! can you believe the nerve of these people? i want at least ten pounds at that price. but the curry turned out very nice - eggplant, green sort-of-hot-peppers, enoki mushrooms, and some baby dandelion greens left over from last night (yes, i know, they're not culturally appropriate, but they're substituting for a whole giant group of bitter greens that we can't get here. so there.). oh, and tofu. which rebecca fried - the classic division of curry-labor in this household. oh, and we had caipirinhas. they go with everything.
she took pictures, too. so if they don't look terrible (and if i can figure out how) perhaps i'll put one up.
only time will tell.
22 December 2007
20 December 2007
little observation: man is the sum of his appetites
it's very late at night, so i'm keeping this brief. I meant to write this observation a few weeks ago after reading a very depressing NYT magazine article about the 'sleep industry' but i let the opportunity pass. So rather than attacking specifics, i'm going to take a pretty broad swipe.
everyone in the entire western, industrialized, abstracted world would be a whole hell of a lot happier if we all agreed that the 'simple pleasures in life' - the ones that have basically been around since the dawn of our species, the ones that anyone in the world could point out - are not means to a more significant end. eat because it's nice and satisfying and feels good; sleep and have sex and drink and listen to music and read and walk and all the other things for their own sake.
if you're only doing these things out of a sense of duty or expectation or routine or because your doctor told you to (or told you not to, or told you you had to do such-and-such but mustn't do so-and-so) you're missing the point.
i'm sure this all has been said far more elegantly by someone far smarter than i am, but it seems like, culturally, we're really losing our way. i worry especially about my own generation - values seem to be shifting so fast.
god, doesn't this all make me sound like a complete reactionary?
i'm going to sleep - i promise a recipe or something soon.
everyone in the entire western, industrialized, abstracted world would be a whole hell of a lot happier if we all agreed that the 'simple pleasures in life' - the ones that have basically been around since the dawn of our species, the ones that anyone in the world could point out - are not means to a more significant end. eat because it's nice and satisfying and feels good; sleep and have sex and drink and listen to music and read and walk and all the other things for their own sake.
if you're only doing these things out of a sense of duty or expectation or routine or because your doctor told you to (or told you not to, or told you you had to do such-and-such but mustn't do so-and-so) you're missing the point.
i'm sure this all has been said far more elegantly by someone far smarter than i am, but it seems like, culturally, we're really losing our way. i worry especially about my own generation - values seem to be shifting so fast.
god, doesn't this all make me sound like a complete reactionary?
i'm going to sleep - i promise a recipe or something soon.
19 December 2007
restaurant: the 'original' riccotti's
so i have a pretty simple way of evaluating the places i eat, which also serves as a rubric for helping me pick where to eat when i'm in a strange place. i figured i'd share it - i'll see if i can phrase it coherently: the satisfaction of a meal eaten out is a function of expectation, execution, and expense. how good did i realistically hope the meal would be? how well was it actually made? how much did it cost? the worst meal is one where the expectation and expense far outweigh the execution - this is why i so rarely eat 'contemporary american' fancy food. even when they're well-hyped, the kitchen seldom gets everything right and even if they do i'm paying heavy for it. ethnic holes-in-the-wall fill the opposite - my expectation isn't for a world-changing dinner and my out-of-pocket risk is limited. even if the meal sucks, i can shrug off $20. shrugging off $80 for food and $40 for an indifferent bottle of wine is a far, far different matter (though i suppose most 'adults' shrug off that kind of investment all the time).
with this in mind, behold the cheesesteak (working class italian is still ethnic food, huzzah). bafflingly, it's a 'steak and cheese' here in providence. they're difficult to ruin entirely (though the large chains found in malls and airports certainly try their hardest) and when done right are far far superior to a hamburger or equivalent. the 'original' riccotti's (133 atwells ave) is probably the best example of the form (that i've found) in southern new england. they manage to fry the vegetables and beef hot enough, their beef is not overly gristly, and - most important - they fully incorporate the cheese while the sandwich is still on the grill. it's a seemingly small point but it makes a world of difference. also, their rolls don't suck. despite being an artisan baker, i fully realize that almost as many sandwiches are ruined by too-good bread as by too-bad (pulled pork on 'brioche' is the other glaring example of missing the point). riccotti's have enough heft that they don't dissolve, but at the same time are soft enough to not hurt your jaw. for some reason, it's desperately hard to find this kind of grinder roll outside of the northeast corridor. any ideas why?
anyhow -
expectations: realistic
execution: first-rate
expense: $13 feeds two people almost excessively
they pretty much hit the trifecta.
with this in mind, behold the cheesesteak (working class italian is still ethnic food, huzzah). bafflingly, it's a 'steak and cheese' here in providence. they're difficult to ruin entirely (though the large chains found in malls and airports certainly try their hardest) and when done right are far far superior to a hamburger or equivalent. the 'original' riccotti's (133 atwells ave) is probably the best example of the form (that i've found) in southern new england. they manage to fry the vegetables and beef hot enough, their beef is not overly gristly, and - most important - they fully incorporate the cheese while the sandwich is still on the grill. it's a seemingly small point but it makes a world of difference. also, their rolls don't suck. despite being an artisan baker, i fully realize that almost as many sandwiches are ruined by too-good bread as by too-bad (pulled pork on 'brioche' is the other glaring example of missing the point). riccotti's have enough heft that they don't dissolve, but at the same time are soft enough to not hurt your jaw. for some reason, it's desperately hard to find this kind of grinder roll outside of the northeast corridor. any ideas why?
anyhow -
expectations: realistic
execution: first-rate
expense: $13 feeds two people almost excessively
they pretty much hit the trifecta.
18 December 2007
recipe: broadly minestrone
this is an ideal recipe for days when you look in the fridge and realize that you have several different vegetables all at or past their peak. and who cares if they're a little punked out? just don't use anything rotten. this isn't really worth going out to buy everything, though - you'll end up with a ton of stuff in the fridge that you have to use up. oh, and it's utterly simple to make vegetarian (vegan, really) - just use vegetable stock and no meat at the beginning.
assembly:
1/2lb nice fatty meat - i really think you should use pork - pancetta or good sausage or whatever, chopped or mushed up or what have you
olive oil
two small onions or one of those gigantic ones they sell at white-people grocery stores
a lot of vegetables (tonight's was carrots, eggplant, little green peppers, cabbage, mustard greens and stems, and frozen peas)
five or six cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1tsp or so of fennel seeds
1tsp oregano
a few little anchovies from a jar, packed in olive oil please
1 28oz can san marzano tomatoes, cleaned up and gooshed with their juice
1 32oz box of broth (the industrialized world switched over to boxed broth recently for some reason; trader joe's sells it pretty cheap - i prefer using chicken to beef in this)
1 16oz can cannellini beans, drained and well washed
heat a little olive oil in your dutch oven and brown your meat for a minute or two over medium heat. marcella hazan says you're supposed to stagger your addition of vegetables but you know what? i think that's silly. crank the heat all the way up and honk everything in (except for the mustard greens and peas - use common sense). stir around for a few seconds, throw in another slug of olive oil, and start them browning. the secret to all this, i think, is not to disturb them too much. you want to create a pretty dense fond on the bottom of the pot - so just molest them every few minutes, not every few seconds. once things are getting soft and stuck to the bottom, pour in a little stock and stir up all the stuff from the bottom. then let it stick back on again and add another go of stock. do this three or four times until everything is looking dark and hearty and smelling deep and brown. add your anchovies and garlic and mush them up a little. throw in the fennel and oregano too. after a few minutes more dump in the rest of the box of stock and the tomatoes. turn the heat way down, to around medium-low. after around a half-hour, add the peas and beans and greens.
finish:
salt
pepper
basil
when the soup has thickened up nicely and looks pretty done, season it well and serve. you can cook it for hours and hours and hours like most minestrone recipes call for but all that does is break the vegetables down into a pasty mass. so don't go that far. but make sure the carrots are soft, please.
makes a remarkable amount of very filling soup. but it freezes well. and it's better left over, as every fool knows.
nota bene for vegetarian and vegan readers (oh god, do i have vegan readers?): there is virtually no fat in vegetable soup unless you add it. and let me tell you how awful it is if you don't add enough. not using that half pound of fatty pork? throw in a giant slug of extra olive oil. trust me.
assembly:
1/2lb nice fatty meat - i really think you should use pork - pancetta or good sausage or whatever, chopped or mushed up or what have you
olive oil
two small onions or one of those gigantic ones they sell at white-people grocery stores
a lot of vegetables (tonight's was carrots, eggplant, little green peppers, cabbage, mustard greens and stems, and frozen peas)
five or six cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1tsp or so of fennel seeds
1tsp oregano
a few little anchovies from a jar, packed in olive oil please
1 28oz can san marzano tomatoes, cleaned up and gooshed with their juice
1 32oz box of broth (the industrialized world switched over to boxed broth recently for some reason; trader joe's sells it pretty cheap - i prefer using chicken to beef in this)
1 16oz can cannellini beans, drained and well washed
heat a little olive oil in your dutch oven and brown your meat for a minute or two over medium heat. marcella hazan says you're supposed to stagger your addition of vegetables but you know what? i think that's silly. crank the heat all the way up and honk everything in (except for the mustard greens and peas - use common sense). stir around for a few seconds, throw in another slug of olive oil, and start them browning. the secret to all this, i think, is not to disturb them too much. you want to create a pretty dense fond on the bottom of the pot - so just molest them every few minutes, not every few seconds. once things are getting soft and stuck to the bottom, pour in a little stock and stir up all the stuff from the bottom. then let it stick back on again and add another go of stock. do this three or four times until everything is looking dark and hearty and smelling deep and brown. add your anchovies and garlic and mush them up a little. throw in the fennel and oregano too. after a few minutes more dump in the rest of the box of stock and the tomatoes. turn the heat way down, to around medium-low. after around a half-hour, add the peas and beans and greens.
finish:
salt
pepper
basil
when the soup has thickened up nicely and looks pretty done, season it well and serve. you can cook it for hours and hours and hours like most minestrone recipes call for but all that does is break the vegetables down into a pasty mass. so don't go that far. but make sure the carrots are soft, please.
makes a remarkable amount of very filling soup. but it freezes well. and it's better left over, as every fool knows.
nota bene for vegetarian and vegan readers (oh god, do i have vegan readers?): there is virtually no fat in vegetable soup unless you add it. and let me tell you how awful it is if you don't add enough. not using that half pound of fatty pork? throw in a giant slug of extra olive oil. trust me.
16 December 2007
politics: i'm a single issue voter
i don't want to end up as the latest "east coast elite" blogger piling on poor mike hucklebuckle but i just have to highlight this latest bombshell from zev chafets' NYT magazine take-down:
"Six weeks ago, I met Huckabee for lunch at an Olive Garden restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. (I had offered to take him anywhere he wanted and then vetoed his first choice, T.G.I. Friday’s.)"
did your jaw drop? yes, i know, the real bombshell is supposed to be his don't-mormons-think-jesus-and-satan-are-brothers pander to the evangelical base, but that kind of lightweight theological wrangling is very boring - it's "turtles all the way down" as far as i'm concerned, folks.
(olive) garden-gate, though - there's an issue i can really get behind. as this post's title suggests, i fear a candidate's dining habits really are a litmus test. for someone to be offered a meal anywhere in the food capital of the country and then to settle on olive garden, especially after the host had to veto your first choice, shows me a tremendous neophobia. is this surprising, that a southern theocrat conservative is also a neophobe? of course not - it's to be expected. and i'm not demanding that my candidate end up out in queens eating dosas or curried innards or in chinatown eating those scary orange cuttlefish - i'm not naive enough to ask for my candidate to be an atheist, either. but c'mon - olive garden? he's lost my vote!
oh, and if i had more readers i'm sure some wag would point out that the war criminal kissinger had a very good palate. and yes, i'd rather not have someone like him with his finger on the button. but i'd let him pick where to eat if we were going out for dinner.
"Six weeks ago, I met Huckabee for lunch at an Olive Garden restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. (I had offered to take him anywhere he wanted and then vetoed his first choice, T.G.I. Friday’s.)"
did your jaw drop? yes, i know, the real bombshell is supposed to be his don't-mormons-think-jesus-and-satan-are-brothers pander to the evangelical base, but that kind of lightweight theological wrangling is very boring - it's "turtles all the way down" as far as i'm concerned, folks.
(olive) garden-gate, though - there's an issue i can really get behind. as this post's title suggests, i fear a candidate's dining habits really are a litmus test. for someone to be offered a meal anywhere in the food capital of the country and then to settle on olive garden, especially after the host had to veto your first choice, shows me a tremendous neophobia. is this surprising, that a southern theocrat conservative is also a neophobe? of course not - it's to be expected. and i'm not demanding that my candidate end up out in queens eating dosas or curried innards or in chinatown eating those scary orange cuttlefish - i'm not naive enough to ask for my candidate to be an atheist, either. but c'mon - olive garden? he's lost my vote!
oh, and if i had more readers i'm sure some wag would point out that the war criminal kissinger had a very good palate. and yes, i'd rather not have someone like him with his finger on the button. but i'd let him pick where to eat if we were going out for dinner.
15 December 2007
idea trademark: hipknacks
hot on the heels of my colin meloy - prairie home companion brainstorm comes another moneyspinner.
you know those stores that sell tchotchkes for hipsters - clever shot glasses? novelty shower curtains? fictional books made to read like non-fiction? things that look vaguely old or vaguely french? beirut's probably playing over the speakers?
they sell hipknacks. you read it hear first. hipknacks. it rolls off the tongue.
you know those stores that sell tchotchkes for hipsters - clever shot glasses? novelty shower curtains? fictional books made to read like non-fiction? things that look vaguely old or vaguely french? beirut's probably playing over the speakers?
they sell hipknacks. you read it hear first. hipknacks. it rolls off the tongue.
13 December 2007
restaurant: new wing kee
so i was looking for an excuse to go out on a long walk in the snow today (about a foot on the ground, it's great) and figured it was about time to try out the local siu mei joint, new wing kee (39 central st). is it surprising that i'm a sucker for any place that only has three or four things on the menu? it indicates a great restraint on the part of the owner, and implies that they must be doing those things pretty well.
the interior's a mess, even by my lax adventure-dining standards. comfy old couch in the corner? giant incongruous fishtank? two booths appropriated from an old mcdonalds? whatever - it's the food that counts. americans need to get over this reliance on "atmosphere" in a restaurant. when was the last time you had a lousy meal at a beautiful restaurant and left happy? anyhow. they had the standard hanging pieces of char siu, some of the ultra-crispy-crunchy-skin roast pork that i never seem to care for, a large and scary looking hotel pan full of tripe, and some gorgeous head-on ducks hanging in the usual heat-lamp box. L & i split a whole duck ($15) chopped up and served with a sweet/salty/garlic dipping sauce. a whole duck looks pretty tiny when it's hanging there, but once it's overflowing in a styrofoam clamshell one's confidence in eating the whole thing begins to wane. did i say "split"? i meant to say "L ate a few choice morsels and then sat back to watch me at work". so yes, i ate most of a whole roast duck. and yes, it was amazing. i think my dark-meat conversion is almost complete - i'd rather have this duck than chicken almost any day of the week. well, maybe that's going a bit far. but it'd take a piping hot chicken from edy's in falls church to really challenge this duck.
so yes, readers. steam a bunch of rice, get some cucumbers and whatnot, pick up one of these ducks, and dine in the opulence of your east side mansion. you won't be disappointed. or, hell, eat it there. there's a roll of paper towels you can use to clean your hands up at the end.
oh, and confidential to many, many, many drivers in the providence area: when the road is really snowy and your car starts to spin out, don't give it more gas. please. it makes you look like a total idiot. and when you keep giving it more gas until i feel so bad for you that i walk into a road full of busy traffic to push your dumb ass i would really appreciate it if you didn't floor it when i start pushing. i know you're young and not a great driver, and i'm not going to yell at you in front of your boyfriend, but i mean really. let's use our heads people.
the interior's a mess, even by my lax adventure-dining standards. comfy old couch in the corner? giant incongruous fishtank? two booths appropriated from an old mcdonalds? whatever - it's the food that counts. americans need to get over this reliance on "atmosphere" in a restaurant. when was the last time you had a lousy meal at a beautiful restaurant and left happy? anyhow. they had the standard hanging pieces of char siu, some of the ultra-crispy-crunchy-skin roast pork that i never seem to care for, a large and scary looking hotel pan full of tripe, and some gorgeous head-on ducks hanging in the usual heat-lamp box. L & i split a whole duck ($15) chopped up and served with a sweet/salty/garlic dipping sauce. a whole duck looks pretty tiny when it's hanging there, but once it's overflowing in a styrofoam clamshell one's confidence in eating the whole thing begins to wane. did i say "split"? i meant to say "L ate a few choice morsels and then sat back to watch me at work". so yes, i ate most of a whole roast duck. and yes, it was amazing. i think my dark-meat conversion is almost complete - i'd rather have this duck than chicken almost any day of the week. well, maybe that's going a bit far. but it'd take a piping hot chicken from edy's in falls church to really challenge this duck.
so yes, readers. steam a bunch of rice, get some cucumbers and whatnot, pick up one of these ducks, and dine in the opulence of your east side mansion. you won't be disappointed. or, hell, eat it there. there's a roll of paper towels you can use to clean your hands up at the end.
oh, and confidential to many, many, many drivers in the providence area: when the road is really snowy and your car starts to spin out, don't give it more gas. please. it makes you look like a total idiot. and when you keep giving it more gas until i feel so bad for you that i walk into a road full of busy traffic to push your dumb ass i would really appreciate it if you didn't floor it when i start pushing. i know you're young and not a great driver, and i'm not going to yell at you in front of your boyfriend, but i mean really. let's use our heads people.
07 December 2007
recipe: french toast
i go through phases with french toast, and right now i've just entered a peak. to be fair, i go through phases with most foods. i don't think i can explain it. regardless - i have a pretty limitless supply of high-end artisan bread, and who doesn't like french toast? (amazingly, i didn't like it until about a year ago)
i'm sure mama would say this is closer to pain perdu, but i'm too impatient to let the bread slices stale first. they hold up just fine soaked fresh, so i'm not changing my ways. if you're using lesser bread, you might want to stale it pretty hard first.
i'll also point out that the nitwits at epicurious.com had a big discussion about how you don't have to salt french toast. for some reason, we've decided as a culture that sweet things should be insipid. i think this is a holdover from that period a decade or two ago when salt was the prime culinary evil. it was before carbs - was it before fat too? i'm too young to remember.
assembly:
4 eggs
1 C milk
2T sugar
a pinch of salt
booze! - a very generous slug of brandy or cachaça or rum or anything else that makes sense
around six large slices of good, crusty artisan bread
mix everything together very thoroughly. arrange the bread slices on a pan, and pour the egg mixture on top. turn them over a few times, and throw the whole mess in the fridge overnight.
finish:
way more oil than you think you need
maple syrup or honey or jam or whatever
the next morning heat a nonstick pan swimming with oil over medium heat. i can't overstate this - i'd deepfry the damn things if i could. these are an indulgence and should be treated as such. oh, and don't try to be clever and use butter; the solids will scorch. anyhow, fry the slices one or (if your pan is big enough) two at a time until deeply browned on both sides. like many other things in food-life, darker is better. serve immediately.
i can eat about five slices at a sitting, though i shouldn't. a more reasonable serving is two slices per person.
i'm sure mama would say this is closer to pain perdu, but i'm too impatient to let the bread slices stale first. they hold up just fine soaked fresh, so i'm not changing my ways. if you're using lesser bread, you might want to stale it pretty hard first.
i'll also point out that the nitwits at epicurious.com had a big discussion about how you don't have to salt french toast. for some reason, we've decided as a culture that sweet things should be insipid. i think this is a holdover from that period a decade or two ago when salt was the prime culinary evil. it was before carbs - was it before fat too? i'm too young to remember.
assembly:
4 eggs
1 C milk
2T sugar
a pinch of salt
booze! - a very generous slug of brandy or cachaça or rum or anything else that makes sense
around six large slices of good, crusty artisan bread
mix everything together very thoroughly. arrange the bread slices on a pan, and pour the egg mixture on top. turn them over a few times, and throw the whole mess in the fridge overnight.
finish:
way more oil than you think you need
maple syrup or honey or jam or whatever
the next morning heat a nonstick pan swimming with oil over medium heat. i can't overstate this - i'd deepfry the damn things if i could. these are an indulgence and should be treated as such. oh, and don't try to be clever and use butter; the solids will scorch. anyhow, fry the slices one or (if your pan is big enough) two at a time until deeply browned on both sides. like many other things in food-life, darker is better. serve immediately.
i can eat about five slices at a sitting, though i shouldn't. a more reasonable serving is two slices per person.
recipe: roasted vegetable pasta with pesto
the wonderful grandma who manages produce at the lao market heard me asking the other day for basil (i was making pizza) - i didn't see any on display. so she made up a giant bag of basil and put a $1.50 price tag on it. while i appreciate such a bargain - this would've been $15 of basil at whofo - it's sometimes hard to use up such a quantity of fresh leaves. so, pesto. the roasted vegetables were mostly an effort to use up slightly punky things sitting in the fridge. but they roasted perfectly.
assembly:
vegetables (tonight it was brussels sprouts, pepper, onion, and eggplant)
olive oil
salt
pepper
preheat the oven to 450*. chop up the vegetables into similar bite-sized pieces. place on a roasting pan, cover enthusiastically with olive oil, season, and roast. make sure to roast them nice and dark - there are few things more pathetic than underroasted vegetables.
pesto:
2C very tightly packed basil leaves
3T pine nuts (or walnuts, which are a lot cheaper and work just as well)
a few cloves of garlic
1/2C olive oil
1/2C grated parmigiano-reggiano (okay, fine, i used piave - but you're supposed to use D.O.P. parm - as a former cheesemonger, i have to tell you that the parm they ship to the US sucks - unless you're willing to pay $40/lb+ for the good stuff - end of tangent)
a nice pinch of salt
3T butter
grind the basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and salt to a paste in the food processor. add the butter and cheese and pulse until amalgamated.
finish:
1/2lb pasta
heat a pot of salted water, and cook your pasta. toss with the roasted vegetables, and top with pesto.
serves three-ish. the pesto keeps, but it'll oxidize into a depressing olive-drab color almost immediately. doesn't affect the flavor, though. and i think most americans are used to it looking that way these days.
assembly:
vegetables (tonight it was brussels sprouts, pepper, onion, and eggplant)
olive oil
salt
pepper
preheat the oven to 450*. chop up the vegetables into similar bite-sized pieces. place on a roasting pan, cover enthusiastically with olive oil, season, and roast. make sure to roast them nice and dark - there are few things more pathetic than underroasted vegetables.
pesto:
2C very tightly packed basil leaves
3T pine nuts (or walnuts, which are a lot cheaper and work just as well)
a few cloves of garlic
1/2C olive oil
1/2C grated parmigiano-reggiano (okay, fine, i used piave - but you're supposed to use D.O.P. parm - as a former cheesemonger, i have to tell you that the parm they ship to the US sucks - unless you're willing to pay $40/lb+ for the good stuff - end of tangent)
a nice pinch of salt
3T butter
grind the basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and salt to a paste in the food processor. add the butter and cheese and pulse until amalgamated.
finish:
1/2lb pasta
heat a pot of salted water, and cook your pasta. toss with the roasted vegetables, and top with pesto.
serves three-ish. the pesto keeps, but it'll oxidize into a depressing olive-drab color almost immediately. doesn't affect the flavor, though. and i think most americans are used to it looking that way these days.
06 December 2007
cocktail: caipirinha
so i was going to make myself a delicious cocktail this evening to celebrate not falling off my bike and breaking something, but i found out to my horror that i was out of cachaça. this is a big deal, because the caipirinha is far and away my standby drink. it is overwhelmingly strong but overwhelmingly not fiery - i know this is an emasculating thing to admit, but the immediate and burning queasiness that most strong drinks cause is not a favorite sensation.
if you decide to buy a bottle of cachaça, i'd strongly recommend avoiding the cheap industrial versions out there - the relatively huge brazilian population in coastal southern MA greatly increases our artisanal cachaça options. for those of you without ready access to brazilians, i don't know what to tell you. you're probably out of luck. the house bottle these days is rochinha, which is a 5 year single barrel and runs about $20 at yankee spirits. note that this is not the IBA-approved formula - you can find theirs on wikipedia and compare, if you like.
2 1/2oz cachaça
1 smallish lime
1 1/2T sugar
3 ice cubes
i normally am very laissez-faire about washing fruit, but in this case if your lime looks particularly waxy, you should probably give it a quick scrub. you're drinking the rind, after all. either way, cut off the top and bottom of the lime. cut and discard four equal-size slabs of peel off the face of the lime - i know this is hard to describe, but you're basically removing some-but-not-all of the peel, and this is the best way i can think of to do it. if you leave on all the peel, it'll come out too bitter. trust me. so you should have a basically cube-shaped lime at this point. cut it in half, then the halves into quarters - eight little lime-cubes. toss these into a cocktail shaker. add the sugar, and muddle it really hard. i have a giant wooden pestle i bought from the lao for $1. it is amazing. i'm sure you can buy a much lousier one from williams-sonoma for $20. once it's totally muddled, pour on the cachaça and add the ice cubes. jam a lowball glass onto the shaker and shake like hell. the goal is to puree the lime and sugar and bust up the cubes into crushed ice. if you have a source for crushed ice, by all means use it. finally, pour your caipirinha into the lowball and serve.
one of these is lovely, two in a row troublesome, and three dangerous. they are very easy to overdo. so, of course, i urge moderation.
if you decide to buy a bottle of cachaça, i'd strongly recommend avoiding the cheap industrial versions out there - the relatively huge brazilian population in coastal southern MA greatly increases our artisanal cachaça options. for those of you without ready access to brazilians, i don't know what to tell you. you're probably out of luck. the house bottle these days is rochinha, which is a 5 year single barrel and runs about $20 at yankee spirits. note that this is not the IBA-approved formula - you can find theirs on wikipedia and compare, if you like.
2 1/2oz cachaça
1 smallish lime
1 1/2T sugar
3 ice cubes
i normally am very laissez-faire about washing fruit, but in this case if your lime looks particularly waxy, you should probably give it a quick scrub. you're drinking the rind, after all. either way, cut off the top and bottom of the lime. cut and discard four equal-size slabs of peel off the face of the lime - i know this is hard to describe, but you're basically removing some-but-not-all of the peel, and this is the best way i can think of to do it. if you leave on all the peel, it'll come out too bitter. trust me. so you should have a basically cube-shaped lime at this point. cut it in half, then the halves into quarters - eight little lime-cubes. toss these into a cocktail shaker. add the sugar, and muddle it really hard. i have a giant wooden pestle i bought from the lao for $1. it is amazing. i'm sure you can buy a much lousier one from williams-sonoma for $20. once it's totally muddled, pour on the cachaça and add the ice cubes. jam a lowball glass onto the shaker and shake like hell. the goal is to puree the lime and sugar and bust up the cubes into crushed ice. if you have a source for crushed ice, by all means use it. finally, pour your caipirinha into the lowball and serve.
one of these is lovely, two in a row troublesome, and three dangerous. they are very easy to overdo. so, of course, i urge moderation.
recipe: mostly-mexican pork shoulder
i never thought to ask for shoulder at whofo until just the other day - for some reason, i figured they'd display all the cuts that they offer. i mean, it's hard to move product when your customers don't know you carry it. but i asked, and it turns out they have it and it's cheap and that's great. they probably end up grinding most of it into sausage.
the cooking time on this is pretty hefty - at least three or four hours. but it gave me an excuse to run the oven all afternoon (raising the apartment temperature from below 50* to a balmy 55*) and to spend most of my time in the corner practicing no-handed trackstanding on my bike (insufferable hipster fakenger training). all in all it was a pretty nice day off.
spice mix:
a handful of large dried hot peppers - i haven't lived around good enough mexican food to have the ability to differentiate; i used a few cayennes that were kicking around
a few dried thai hots
a couple inches of cinnamon stick
allspice
black pepper
coriander seed
grind everything - there should be a few tablespoons of really red powder
assembly:
2 1/2lb pork shoulder in one piece, any giant hunks of pure fat cut off
1 large orange
1 lime
2 small or one large onion, peeled and sliced thin
salt
preheat your oven to around 325*. lay the onion slices on the bottom of a dutch oven, then juice the orange and lime on top. add the orange peel, torn into a few large sections. don't worry that there's pulp and stuff adhering to the peel. place the shoulder on top, and rub the spice mix all over it. while you're at it, rub in a pretty healthy amount of salt. cover the dutch oven, and put it in the oven. now go practice trackstands or something. after about an hour, turn the shoulder over. after the second hour, uncover the dutch oven. for the next hour or two, turn and baste the shoulder regularly. when it starts falling apart when you try to turn it, it's probably done. pull it out of the oven and leave to cool.
finish:
a little water or wine or whatever
tortillas
various tortilla fillings - your choice
once the pork is cool enough to handle, remove from the pot and shred coarsely - remove any egregious bits of gristle or fat. mix with the lovely brown sludge remaining in the pot. reheat the empty dutch oven over medium heat, splash in a little liquid, and use the liquid to dislodge all the fond and caramelized orange juice on the sides of the pot. boil it down for a minute and add to the shredded pork. correct for salt, and serve.
makes a whole lot - four ample servings, maybe even with leftovers.
the cooking time on this is pretty hefty - at least three or four hours. but it gave me an excuse to run the oven all afternoon (raising the apartment temperature from below 50* to a balmy 55*) and to spend most of my time in the corner practicing no-handed trackstanding on my bike (insufferable hipster fakenger training). all in all it was a pretty nice day off.
spice mix:
a handful of large dried hot peppers - i haven't lived around good enough mexican food to have the ability to differentiate; i used a few cayennes that were kicking around
a few dried thai hots
a couple inches of cinnamon stick
allspice
black pepper
coriander seed
grind everything - there should be a few tablespoons of really red powder
assembly:
2 1/2lb pork shoulder in one piece, any giant hunks of pure fat cut off
1 large orange
1 lime
2 small or one large onion, peeled and sliced thin
salt
preheat your oven to around 325*. lay the onion slices on the bottom of a dutch oven, then juice the orange and lime on top. add the orange peel, torn into a few large sections. don't worry that there's pulp and stuff adhering to the peel. place the shoulder on top, and rub the spice mix all over it. while you're at it, rub in a pretty healthy amount of salt. cover the dutch oven, and put it in the oven. now go practice trackstands or something. after about an hour, turn the shoulder over. after the second hour, uncover the dutch oven. for the next hour or two, turn and baste the shoulder regularly. when it starts falling apart when you try to turn it, it's probably done. pull it out of the oven and leave to cool.
finish:
a little water or wine or whatever
tortillas
various tortilla fillings - your choice
once the pork is cool enough to handle, remove from the pot and shred coarsely - remove any egregious bits of gristle or fat. mix with the lovely brown sludge remaining in the pot. reheat the empty dutch oven over medium heat, splash in a little liquid, and use the liquid to dislodge all the fond and caramelized orange juice on the sides of the pot. boil it down for a minute and add to the shredded pork. correct for salt, and serve.
makes a whole lot - four ample servings, maybe even with leftovers.
04 December 2007
not a food post: the problem
i'm sure this happens to everyone: you're busy laminating dough, or mixing the same 58K of whole wheat you mix every day, or shaping that 100,000th batard, and your mind gets to wandering. here's the obvious-but-not-spoken-often-enough epiphany i had the other day - i figured i'd write it down, even though it's not going to play well in peoria.
so i was thinking about the general state of affairs here on the planet. i read a fair number of left-wing and radical blogs, and a whole bunch of people are concerned about a whole bunch of things. the problem is global climate change, they say. the problem is peak oil. the problem is habitat loss. the problem is extinction. but the really sad fact of the matter is, these aren't really the problem. they're symptoms, sure.
but we're the problem. us. all of us. humanity.
right away i want to take all pains to point out that this is not a moral issue - it's entirely neutral. is an algae bloom an immoral thing? of course not. we just happen to be an algae bloom, writ large. we're the best complex organism on the planet when it comes to consuming energy and reproducing. and no matter how much you, reader, recycle or cut back or eat compost, you're not changing that fact. if there are resources to extract then we, as a species, are going to extract and use them. no amount of hand-wringing will do a whit of good.
that said, i can see about three possible outcomes:
1) things stay pretty much the same - all the r&d money gets thrown into ethanol and "clean" coal and other quick-fix bullshit. meanwhile we start fighting harder for the less and less that's left, until someone decides it's worth throwing nuclear weapons. the population declines drastically - whether or not any groups hold on to some measure of civilization is up in the air. depends on how bad the war is, i suppose. much worse for humanity if the oil infrastructure gets torched in the fighting. on a geological time-frame, at least, the planet will be fine.
2) we catch a break and someone produces a feasible fusion reactor, or the chinese start putting up solar satellites, or something else of that magnitude. while this seems like a utopian scenario, all it means is more input for the algae. how many people can this planet really sustain? i see this as a "take the kids to the zoo to see a real live cow, then treat them to some yeast from the vats" kind of world. we hang around for awhile longer at the expense of the planet. worst case, we live long enough for some idiot to build nano-scale assemblers without building in controls. that'd be worse than a nice quick nuclear war, i fear.
3) the pie-in-the-sky never-going-to-happen scenario - we get fusion quick, cheap enough carbon nanotubes to build a space elevator (also probably in china), solar satellites, the works. the energy bounty translates to a real endeavor to get off-planet. education and falling birth rates in the post-third-world actually stick. long, long, long-term we get enough people off-planet that we can think about country-sized preserves - you know, for all the species that are left. boy, this is rosy. oh yah, and nano-scale research is banned on-planet. that too.
all in all, i'm putting the odds at 60% 1, 35% 2, and that last 5% on 3. but that's me being exceptionally optimistic.
i promise i'll post a recipe or a beer review or something real soon, kids. sorry to waste your time.
so i was thinking about the general state of affairs here on the planet. i read a fair number of left-wing and radical blogs, and a whole bunch of people are concerned about a whole bunch of things. the problem is global climate change, they say. the problem is peak oil. the problem is habitat loss. the problem is extinction. but the really sad fact of the matter is, these aren't really the problem. they're symptoms, sure.
but we're the problem. us. all of us. humanity.
right away i want to take all pains to point out that this is not a moral issue - it's entirely neutral. is an algae bloom an immoral thing? of course not. we just happen to be an algae bloom, writ large. we're the best complex organism on the planet when it comes to consuming energy and reproducing. and no matter how much you, reader, recycle or cut back or eat compost, you're not changing that fact. if there are resources to extract then we, as a species, are going to extract and use them. no amount of hand-wringing will do a whit of good.
that said, i can see about three possible outcomes:
1) things stay pretty much the same - all the r&d money gets thrown into ethanol and "clean" coal and other quick-fix bullshit. meanwhile we start fighting harder for the less and less that's left, until someone decides it's worth throwing nuclear weapons. the population declines drastically - whether or not any groups hold on to some measure of civilization is up in the air. depends on how bad the war is, i suppose. much worse for humanity if the oil infrastructure gets torched in the fighting. on a geological time-frame, at least, the planet will be fine.
2) we catch a break and someone produces a feasible fusion reactor, or the chinese start putting up solar satellites, or something else of that magnitude. while this seems like a utopian scenario, all it means is more input for the algae. how many people can this planet really sustain? i see this as a "take the kids to the zoo to see a real live cow, then treat them to some yeast from the vats" kind of world. we hang around for awhile longer at the expense of the planet. worst case, we live long enough for some idiot to build nano-scale assemblers without building in controls. that'd be worse than a nice quick nuclear war, i fear.
3) the pie-in-the-sky never-going-to-happen scenario - we get fusion quick, cheap enough carbon nanotubes to build a space elevator (also probably in china), solar satellites, the works. the energy bounty translates to a real endeavor to get off-planet. education and falling birth rates in the post-third-world actually stick. long, long, long-term we get enough people off-planet that we can think about country-sized preserves - you know, for all the species that are left. boy, this is rosy. oh yah, and nano-scale research is banned on-planet. that too.
all in all, i'm putting the odds at 60% 1, 35% 2, and that last 5% on 3. but that's me being exceptionally optimistic.
i promise i'll post a recipe or a beer review or something real soon, kids. sorry to waste your time.
02 December 2007
recipe: pork chops diane
like many other things i'm learning to cook, this just sort of appeared to me as i was standing in whofo this evening. i realized i'd not cooked a pork chop before, so...the sauce is apparently something i'd read in a cookbook, made from memory, and then went back to find out what it was called. happens all the time. so this is really just a faux steak diane.
assembly:
2 nice thick pork chops - i think they weighed about a pound and a third total
salt
pepper
butter
heavily salt and pepper the chops on both sides, and let warm up to room temperature. meanwhile heat up a pretty heavy skillet over medium-high heat. when you're ready, throw in a little knob of butter, and when melted add the chops. don't crowd the pan - if i had to make more than two, i'd do it in two batches. cook, turning halfway through, until just barely cooked - trichinosis is virtually a non-issue in the US, so cook your pork pink. pull out and let rest while you make the sauce.
finish:
a few shallots, chopped fine
vermouth (or cognac, if you are rich or well-to-do)
cream
dijon mustard
a little more salt and pepper
toss the shallots into the pan, still over medium-high heat. stir for a minute or two, then add a hearty splash of the liquor of choice. it'll at the very least steam enthusiastically, and if you're lucky and it's high-proof it'll burst into a giant column of flame. don't burn your eyebrows. once that's reduced a bit, stir in your cream and a spoonful of mustard. let the cream thicken, add the chops back in, stir, and serve.
serves one person if they like two chops, or two people if they are sensible.
assembly:
2 nice thick pork chops - i think they weighed about a pound and a third total
salt
pepper
butter
heavily salt and pepper the chops on both sides, and let warm up to room temperature. meanwhile heat up a pretty heavy skillet over medium-high heat. when you're ready, throw in a little knob of butter, and when melted add the chops. don't crowd the pan - if i had to make more than two, i'd do it in two batches. cook, turning halfway through, until just barely cooked - trichinosis is virtually a non-issue in the US, so cook your pork pink. pull out and let rest while you make the sauce.
finish:
a few shallots, chopped fine
vermouth (or cognac, if you are rich or well-to-do)
cream
dijon mustard
a little more salt and pepper
toss the shallots into the pan, still over medium-high heat. stir for a minute or two, then add a hearty splash of the liquor of choice. it'll at the very least steam enthusiastically, and if you're lucky and it's high-proof it'll burst into a giant column of flame. don't burn your eyebrows. once that's reduced a bit, stir in your cream and a spoonful of mustard. let the cream thicken, add the chops back in, stir, and serve.
serves one person if they like two chops, or two people if they are sensible.
30 November 2007
beer: victory v-saison
man, what a gyp. i love saisons - the drinkability of a pale ale but with a nice earthy/funky layer. too bad that victory, a brewery i generally think pretty highly of, left all the funk out of theirs. staggeringly effervescent and prickly, too sweet on the opening, and limp on the finish. just not much doing. don't waste your time, get a bottle of dupont instead. oh, and the cork was so badly stuck that i had to pry it off with pliers. kabammo.
beer tasting: cantillon
the fine folks at nikki's liquors finally twisted my arm into going to one of their beer tastings, and i have to admit it was more than worth the price of admission ($0). cantillon, as i'm sure you're aware, is a belgian brewery specializing in really, really old-school lambics. the consensus:
classic gueuze: a pretty sturdy mild gueuze - not enough funk to really satisfy
iris: an entirely barley-malt lambic, hoppier than is traditional - certainly more hop impact, but not enough to drastically change the character of the beer
vigneronne: lambic laid on muscat grapes - a strong twiggy/woody opening, with a greater degree of funk - pretty good
kriek: one of the better krieks i've had, assertively dry and without a bit of cough syrup
st. lamvinus: lambic laid on merlot and cab franc grapes - really impressive, big and beefy and funky - the kind of thing i'd be happy to drink pretty regularly (so of course it's $30+ a bottle)
i also bought a bottle of victory's saison to take home - update as the situation develops.
classic gueuze: a pretty sturdy mild gueuze - not enough funk to really satisfy
iris: an entirely barley-malt lambic, hoppier than is traditional - certainly more hop impact, but not enough to drastically change the character of the beer
vigneronne: lambic laid on muscat grapes - a strong twiggy/woody opening, with a greater degree of funk - pretty good
kriek: one of the better krieks i've had, assertively dry and without a bit of cough syrup
st. lamvinus: lambic laid on merlot and cab franc grapes - really impressive, big and beefy and funky - the kind of thing i'd be happy to drink pretty regularly (so of course it's $30+ a bottle)
i also bought a bottle of victory's saison to take home - update as the situation develops.
29 November 2007
beer: sam smith oatmeal stout
i have to confess that i'm not a huge stout drinker. it's not that i'm opposed to the style, it's just that there are so many other styles i like more. it's like ordering udon at a sushi restaurant. you can, but...
that said, sam smith oatmeal stout is the first choice around here. most american microbrews tend towards chocolate or coffee flavors in their stouts which, coupled with overmalting in general, leaves them tasting like those effete espresso drinks that lamewads drink. the oatmeal stout is much better balanced and the oatmeal notes make it a lot more drinkable with savory foods. the abv isn't absurdly high, either - a few pints would be more than acceptable on a cold winter night. and a few bonus points for their subdued label design - i was going to point out how much i hated stone's copy in the ruination post, but forgot. i don't need to read your life story on the back of the bottle.
that said, sam smith oatmeal stout is the first choice around here. most american microbrews tend towards chocolate or coffee flavors in their stouts which, coupled with overmalting in general, leaves them tasting like those effete espresso drinks that lamewads drink. the oatmeal stout is much better balanced and the oatmeal notes make it a lot more drinkable with savory foods. the abv isn't absurdly high, either - a few pints would be more than acceptable on a cold winter night. and a few bonus points for their subdued label design - i was going to point out how much i hated stone's copy in the ruination post, but forgot. i don't need to read your life story on the back of the bottle.
recipe: hamburgers
readers, i am awfully embarrassed to admit that 24 years into my life i'd never made a hamburger at home. does this reveal some sort of deep-seated flaw? so tonight was a brand-new experience here at the homestead. all thanks to mama, who knows how to do everything.
assembly:
1lb ground beef, as fatty as you can find - i used 85% lean from whofo
a whole lot of salt and pepper
worcestershire sauce (or if you're like me and don't have any, just use tonkatsu sauce and fish sauce, heavier on the tonkatsu - i'm sure you have both of those kicking around)
mix all the above together into a nicely homogeneous mass. now go and find your smoke detector and take the batteries out. then rip it out of the wall. open all your windows. turn a fan on. several fans, if you have them. or, you know, turn on the fantastically efficient hood over your stove. either way. close your closet doors unless you want your wardrobe to smell like burning meat. should i point out that this is not something to make to impress your date? also, should i point out that cats can't stand the sound of an angry smoke detector?
anyhow. preheat a cast iron skillet to somewhere around "roaring hot". have your ground meat mix divided into squash-ball-sized balls. pat a ball in your hands into a very very thin patty. the thinner the better. really. as thin as you can without tearing. now smack it into the skillet and watch the column of smoke billow out. cook until done on one side, flip, and cook until done on the other. i'd say maybe a minute or less per side. i'd aim closer to raw than cardboard, but maybe that's just me. if you like cheese on yours, throw it on when you flip it. i think people use processed cheese for this because it melts so quickly - real cheddar, even grated, takes too long. try to ignore the growing cloud of smoke descending from the ceiling.
finish:
you know what you like on your hamburgers better than i do
toasted buns
put your hamburgers together and serve. these are the kind of thing where the cook eats last, or eats with one hand while cooking with the other.
makes a lot of little burgers.
bonus! secret sauce recipe!
cornichons
shallots
ketchup
mayonnaise
sriracha
honey
salt
pepper
buzz the cornichons and shallots in a food processor until coarsely chopped. fold in the rest of the ingredients. tastes just like mcdonalds but nicer.
assembly:
1lb ground beef, as fatty as you can find - i used 85% lean from whofo
a whole lot of salt and pepper
worcestershire sauce (or if you're like me and don't have any, just use tonkatsu sauce and fish sauce, heavier on the tonkatsu - i'm sure you have both of those kicking around)
mix all the above together into a nicely homogeneous mass. now go and find your smoke detector and take the batteries out. then rip it out of the wall. open all your windows. turn a fan on. several fans, if you have them. or, you know, turn on the fantastically efficient hood over your stove. either way. close your closet doors unless you want your wardrobe to smell like burning meat. should i point out that this is not something to make to impress your date? also, should i point out that cats can't stand the sound of an angry smoke detector?
anyhow. preheat a cast iron skillet to somewhere around "roaring hot". have your ground meat mix divided into squash-ball-sized balls. pat a ball in your hands into a very very thin patty. the thinner the better. really. as thin as you can without tearing. now smack it into the skillet and watch the column of smoke billow out. cook until done on one side, flip, and cook until done on the other. i'd say maybe a minute or less per side. i'd aim closer to raw than cardboard, but maybe that's just me. if you like cheese on yours, throw it on when you flip it. i think people use processed cheese for this because it melts so quickly - real cheddar, even grated, takes too long. try to ignore the growing cloud of smoke descending from the ceiling.
finish:
you know what you like on your hamburgers better than i do
toasted buns
put your hamburgers together and serve. these are the kind of thing where the cook eats last, or eats with one hand while cooking with the other.
makes a lot of little burgers.
bonus! secret sauce recipe!
cornichons
shallots
ketchup
mayonnaise
sriracha
honey
salt
pepper
buzz the cornichons and shallots in a food processor until coarsely chopped. fold in the rest of the ingredients. tastes just like mcdonalds but nicer.
28 November 2007
recipe: polenta
at first glance, it might seem kind of silly that i'm posting a recipe for polenta. doesn't everyone know how to make polenta? but, not too long ago, i was converted to a completely different technique that i'm really keen on. the gist of it is that amylase (the enzyme responsible for breaking down long-chain carbohydrates) is deactivated above around 180*. if you immediately heat your polenta to a boil, as most people do, almost all of the starch remains complex and you don't get much sweetness out of your corn. this method, though much lengthier, is also a lot tastier. my thanks go to paul bertolli and his book 'cooking by hand', the best contemporary slightly-more-talky-than-marcella-hazan italian book out there.
assembly:
1C good polenta (i love the stuff from anson mills but it's not cheap)
4C water
1tsp salt
preheat your oven to about 180*, though 200* may produce better results. ovens don't seem very happy to be kept so low. rinse the polenta in your cooking pot, exactly as you would with rice. throw off all the starchy water. refill with the 4C water, add your salt, cover, and throw into the oven. let it sit in there for hours and hours. stir occasionally. three, maybe four hours later it'll be ready.
finish:
a giant knob of butter
fresh cheese, maybe?
add more butter than you might think prudent. stir in and serve.
makes a good bit - and few things are as filling as polenta. if you pour it into a pan and chill it for awhile, you can fry or grill the firmed polenta to very nice results.
assembly:
1C good polenta (i love the stuff from anson mills but it's not cheap)
4C water
1tsp salt
preheat your oven to about 180*, though 200* may produce better results. ovens don't seem very happy to be kept so low. rinse the polenta in your cooking pot, exactly as you would with rice. throw off all the starchy water. refill with the 4C water, add your salt, cover, and throw into the oven. let it sit in there for hours and hours. stir occasionally. three, maybe four hours later it'll be ready.
finish:
a giant knob of butter
fresh cheese, maybe?
add more butter than you might think prudent. stir in and serve.
makes a good bit - and few things are as filling as polenta. if you pour it into a pan and chill it for awhile, you can fry or grill the firmed polenta to very nice results.
27 November 2007
beer: stone ruination IPA
hey, look, a post. amazing, you're saying to yourself. i thought he'd lost interest. but no, i just got myself off to much-too-fast of a start. pace myself, that's the key.
anyhow, stone ruination. this is a perennial favorite of high-alpha american beer snobs - i definitely don't count myself a member of that group. like everything else about american microbrew, more is "better" and pushing the limits often supercedes technical skill. that being said, this is a really well-made beer. it shows a lot of control and balance, which is vital when you're at 8%abv and over 100IBU. the malt hit is almost instantaneous, but it's followed by a really vibrant herbaceous hop middle and finish. it manages the feat of being neither cloying nor (too) bitter after the finish, both of which tend to be the failing of this style. thankfully, too, campus was selling it in 12oz format instead of bombers. 22 ounces would just be too much. $17 is steep for a six, but it's worth it once in awhile.
anyhow, stone ruination. this is a perennial favorite of high-alpha american beer snobs - i definitely don't count myself a member of that group. like everything else about american microbrew, more is "better" and pushing the limits often supercedes technical skill. that being said, this is a really well-made beer. it shows a lot of control and balance, which is vital when you're at 8%abv and over 100IBU. the malt hit is almost instantaneous, but it's followed by a really vibrant herbaceous hop middle and finish. it manages the feat of being neither cloying nor (too) bitter after the finish, both of which tend to be the failing of this style. thankfully, too, campus was selling it in 12oz format instead of bombers. 22 ounces would just be too much. $17 is steep for a six, but it's worth it once in awhile.
16 November 2007
beer: morland tanner's jack
i bought a six of morland tanner's jack the other week at yankee spirits up in attleboro - going through a bit of an english thing here at the homestead. unfortunately, despite the cool story behind the name and logo the beer itself was a bit wan - it's the kind of thing generously described on the beergeek websites as a "session beer". this, i think, means that you can drink a lot of it without much effect on your palate or psyche. it doesn't ask much of you. low ABV - somewhere in the mid 4s, if i remember correctly. don't get me wrong, it was better than a lot of the junk micros available here. but i wouldn't buy it again.
recipe: not-really-north-african sauce
like many things prepared in the US by well-meaning white folks, this is a dish that bears little resemblance to anything really ethnic. but it's still tasty. and who knows? it may be the specialty of some grandma in some souk in tunisia. but i doubt it.
assembly:
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 little knob ginger, peeled and diced fine
a few cloves garlic, same dice
olive oil
1T coriander seed
1T cumin
1/2T fennel seed
a handful of thai hot peppers, if they happen to be in your fridge
1 28oz can tomatoes, cleaned up and mushed with their juice
maybe 1/3C dried fruit - i use golden raisins, but i have a feeling diced apricots would be nice too
a squirt of honey
...make a sauce. saute the onion in the olive oil for a few minutes, throw in the ginger and garlic for another minute or two, then the whole spices and hot peppers...give them another minute more, dump in the tomatoes, add the dried fruit, and stir in the honey. cover mostly and let simmer on low heat. the usual 45 minutes or so.
finish:
a little fresh mint
a little fresh basil
a handful of oil cured olives, chopped coarse
salt
pepper
when everything looks good and saucy, add all the above and let the olives warm up. no more than a minute or so. you don't want the herbs to get all cooked and sad.
serves 2 nicely, over pasta or couscous.
i'll mention that i had the end of some sausages from the other day kicking around, so i threw those in too. totally optional, though i could see some merguez tasting pretty good in here. if you can get merguez where you live. i don't think i can.
assembly:
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 little knob ginger, peeled and diced fine
a few cloves garlic, same dice
olive oil
1T coriander seed
1T cumin
1/2T fennel seed
a handful of thai hot peppers, if they happen to be in your fridge
1 28oz can tomatoes, cleaned up and mushed with their juice
maybe 1/3C dried fruit - i use golden raisins, but i have a feeling diced apricots would be nice too
a squirt of honey
...make a sauce. saute the onion in the olive oil for a few minutes, throw in the ginger and garlic for another minute or two, then the whole spices and hot peppers...give them another minute more, dump in the tomatoes, add the dried fruit, and stir in the honey. cover mostly and let simmer on low heat. the usual 45 minutes or so.
finish:
a little fresh mint
a little fresh basil
a handful of oil cured olives, chopped coarse
salt
pepper
when everything looks good and saucy, add all the above and let the olives warm up. no more than a minute or so. you don't want the herbs to get all cooked and sad.
serves 2 nicely, over pasta or couscous.
i'll mention that i had the end of some sausages from the other day kicking around, so i threw those in too. totally optional, though i could see some merguez tasting pretty good in here. if you can get merguez where you live. i don't think i can.
15 November 2007
observation: food urges
i just had a terrible, split-second, overwhelming urge for some very specific thing to eat and i don't know what it was. the flavor was there, but by the time i could put it together, it was gone. is there a word for this feeling? perhaps in german?
weird drink: mangosteen juice
i'm a sucker for, among other things, exotic juice drinks. today's impulse purchase, at the lao market, was a can of "ice cool" brand mangosteen beverage. for those of you not immediately familiar with the mangosteen, they are one of any number of southeast asian fruits currently illegal for import into the US - worries about various insect pests, apparently. i wasn't expecting much out of this can, to tell the truth - my thai cookbook guy finds mangosteens "insipid", and he has access to the real thing. but remarkably, it was very tasty - sort of a peach-grape-apple thing, very floral. and not too cloying. i'd drink it again, and it beats the hell out of a $3.50 juice from whofo.
nitpick: za'atar
sorry for the hiatus, readers. mama and papa were here this weekend, and i just got lazy. so, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
in the new yorker i received today i (as i always do) immediately turned to the "tables for two" writeup - does that come as any surprise? the restaurant, a high-minded israeli joint, sounds fine. no complaints there. what gets me is this: "Admony brushes [the pitas] with olive oil and a mixture of sesame, salt, and zatar, an herb that grows on a mountain near Jerusalem". this triggered a pretty strong reaction, because i've only ever seen zatar sold as a blend of (some combination of) sesame, sumac, and wild thyme or oregano. it's an herb now? before i sent off an angry email to the new yorker fact-checkers, i did some due diligence. here's the full story: za'atar, traditionally, is unblended syrian hyssop - so maybe i was wrong. maybe they're using the real thing. but, it's also a protected plant in israel (most websites argue that this was done just to give checkpoint guards yet another reason to fuck with palestinians, but i'm not wading into that part) - so if they're using syrian hyssop at this place, it's certainly not from a "mountain near jerusalem". the blended non-hyssop za'atar just sort of tastes like the real thing, apparently.
so what gives? have i out-checked a venerable magazine? or is this whole thing just silly?
in the new yorker i received today i (as i always do) immediately turned to the "tables for two" writeup - does that come as any surprise? the restaurant, a high-minded israeli joint, sounds fine. no complaints there. what gets me is this: "Admony brushes [the pitas] with olive oil and a mixture of sesame, salt, and zatar, an herb that grows on a mountain near Jerusalem". this triggered a pretty strong reaction, because i've only ever seen zatar sold as a blend of (some combination of) sesame, sumac, and wild thyme or oregano. it's an herb now? before i sent off an angry email to the new yorker fact-checkers, i did some due diligence. here's the full story: za'atar, traditionally, is unblended syrian hyssop - so maybe i was wrong. maybe they're using the real thing. but, it's also a protected plant in israel (most websites argue that this was done just to give checkpoint guards yet another reason to fuck with palestinians, but i'm not wading into that part) - so if they're using syrian hyssop at this place, it's certainly not from a "mountain near jerusalem". the blended non-hyssop za'atar just sort of tastes like the real thing, apparently.
so what gives? have i out-checked a venerable magazine? or is this whole thing just silly?
08 November 2007
recipe: chocolate pudding
i don't make weak chocolate pudding. this is amazingly high-test, and a little bit goes a long way. it's basically stabilized fat and sugar.
to anyone who actually attempts this recipe (kudos to you!): it's not easy. it's not starched, meaning the only thickening action you'll get is from the yolks. and it's really, really easy to end up with chocolate scrambled eggs. i wish i could tell you when to add your eggs and when to pull the whole thing off the stove. but i can't. it's kind of a feel-sight thing. it'll go from thickish to thick-and-glossy to, i presume, coagulated. pull it right when it goes thick-and-glossy. does that help? 150-155* F, no higher.
assembly & finish
1&1/3C light cream
5oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped - i used barry callebaut because it was on sale at whofo, but you could use valrhona or scharffen-berger with equal success. don't bother with cheap chocolate.
1/2tsp salt
1/3C sugar
2 egg yolks, whisked in a small bowl
heat all ingredients except the yolks in a small pot over medium-low heat. stir constantly. when it looks right, add a little to the yolks and then dump them into the pot. stir like hell. remove when it's just barely done, as it'll heat a little residually. pour into whatever containers you prefer, and chill until cold. don't forget to lick the spatula.
serves four very greedy people.
to anyone who actually attempts this recipe (kudos to you!): it's not easy. it's not starched, meaning the only thickening action you'll get is from the yolks. and it's really, really easy to end up with chocolate scrambled eggs. i wish i could tell you when to add your eggs and when to pull the whole thing off the stove. but i can't. it's kind of a feel-sight thing. it'll go from thickish to thick-and-glossy to, i presume, coagulated. pull it right when it goes thick-and-glossy. does that help? 150-155* F, no higher.
assembly & finish
1&1/3C light cream
5oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped - i used barry callebaut because it was on sale at whofo, but you could use valrhona or scharffen-berger with equal success. don't bother with cheap chocolate.
1/2tsp salt
1/3C sugar
2 egg yolks, whisked in a small bowl
heat all ingredients except the yolks in a small pot over medium-low heat. stir constantly. when it looks right, add a little to the yolks and then dump them into the pot. stir like hell. remove when it's just barely done, as it'll heat a little residually. pour into whatever containers you prefer, and chill until cold. don't forget to lick the spatula.
serves four very greedy people.
not a food post: prairie home companion
to the horror of those who know me, i have started listening to prairie home companion each and every weekend at work - what could be nicer than listening to garrison keillor while you laminate croissant dough? nothing, that's what. and i've come to a startling conclusion, one that i need to share with the internet world-at-large so that when it happens, i can say "you read it here first". when garrison keillor has come to the end of his tenure - as he must, at some point - he can, should, and in a fair world will be replaced by colin meloy, lead singer of the decemberists. even though i think colin is a pretentious, smug man, isn't that a part of keillor's charm? mr meloy already has a proven sophisticated accent, and his stage banter is just the right tone. listen to it in your mind's ear - you know it'd work.
so here you have it - American Public Media execs take note.
so here you have it - American Public Media execs take note.
recipe: black beans
if i had to pick a recipe for a foodstamp challenge, this'd be it. the cheapest, tastiest calories money can buy. they also turn into refried beans beautifully, if you're into that kind of thing. even better, they provide a good rationale for buying and eating most of a bag of tortilla chips. most recipes call for soaking your beans overnight, but i don't plan menus that far ahead. and anyway, diana kennedy says that mexicans cook them as is. so there you have it.
assembly:
2C dried black beans
8C water
1/4C oil (i like lard for this, or any rendered hog fat, but feel free to use whatever you want)
1 medium onion, chopped fine
a few larger mildly hot peppers, chopped fine
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1T coriander seed
1T cumin
1T oregano
heat the oil or rendered fat over medium-high heat in a dutch oven. add the onion and pepper and brown for a few minutes. add your garlic and spices (either whole or ground; as you prefer) and cook for another minute. dump in your beans, add the water, turn the heat to medium low, cover, and walk away. the longer you give these the better. at least three hours. you may have to add more water if they begin to stick - it's not a big deal. some beans soften way faster than others. so your mileage may vary.
finish:
salt
pepper
sriracha
tortillas, wheat or corn, heated and browned on a comal
season a little with pepper and pretty liberally with salt. nobody likes undersalted beans. provide a bottle of sriracha for communal use, and warm up more tortillas than you think you need.
serves (heartily) two with leftovers or four as part of a full meal.
assembly:
2C dried black beans
8C water
1/4C oil (i like lard for this, or any rendered hog fat, but feel free to use whatever you want)
1 medium onion, chopped fine
a few larger mildly hot peppers, chopped fine
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1T coriander seed
1T cumin
1T oregano
heat the oil or rendered fat over medium-high heat in a dutch oven. add the onion and pepper and brown for a few minutes. add your garlic and spices (either whole or ground; as you prefer) and cook for another minute. dump in your beans, add the water, turn the heat to medium low, cover, and walk away. the longer you give these the better. at least three hours. you may have to add more water if they begin to stick - it's not a big deal. some beans soften way faster than others. so your mileage may vary.
finish:
salt
pepper
sriracha
tortillas, wheat or corn, heated and browned on a comal
season a little with pepper and pretty liberally with salt. nobody likes undersalted beans. provide a bottle of sriracha for communal use, and warm up more tortillas than you think you need.
serves (heartily) two with leftovers or four as part of a full meal.
07 November 2007
nonsense: zero-calorie calories
yahoo would like to save you from yourself by pointing out that zero-calorie sweeteners are actually full of calories. let's stop and think for a second. five calories in a packet of splenda...if you eat only a hundred packets of splenda at a sitting, you've blown your diet to the tune of five hundred calories. shame on you, eating all that splenda.
champagne: veuve cliquot
i can't believe i am brand-loyal. i like to think that i'm above such things - and perhaps if i had the money to drink champagne regularly, i could overcome this crippling reliance. but for now, veuve cliquot is the best thing going. $35 is exactly the right amount to pay for a bottle that promises so much yeasty satisfaction.
and it pairs beautifully with sloppy joes and tater tots. cuts right through the grease like a scalpel. you should try it.
and it pairs beautifully with sloppy joes and tater tots. cuts right through the grease like a scalpel. you should try it.
recipe: sloppy joes
readers, for most of my young life i'd never had a sloppy joe. i think this is probably because i didn't take to sandwiches at all until later in life, and so mama just never bothered making them. or perhaps she just doesn't like them. who knows? whatever the case may be, i've only started making this particular thing pretty recently and it bears only passing resemblance to any other sloppy joe recipe i've ever seen. so if you're expecting hamburger helper, proceed at your own risk. it's probably more like bizarro-world greek chili, if that helps.
spice mix:
cloves
cinnamon
allspice
nutmeg
fennel
coriander
cumin
paprika
quantities QS. i'd say a little lighter on the cumin and coriander, a little heavier on the sweet spices. don't bother roasting anything unless you really are going artisan-sloppy-joe. grind them all up. you should have a few tablespoons of powder.
assembly:
1T olive oil
1/4lb bacon, diced fine
3/4lb ground meat, your choice - pork? veal? horse?
1 large onion, chopped
a few stalks of celery, chopped
a cubanelle pepper or two, chopped - or any other vaguely spicy not-bell pepper
2-3T brown sugar
1 28oz can whole plum tomatoes, cleaned up and pureed or picked apart with fingers
3T ketchup
sriracha
1-2T vinegar
salt
pepper
heat your olive oil in a dutch oven or equivalent over medium heat. render the bacon until beginning to crisp. pull the bacon out and set aside, crank the heat up a bit, and add the diced vegetables. brown for a few minutes until softening. throw in your spice blend and the brown sugar. cook a few more minutes - don't let the sugar scorch. add your ground meat, and stir until broken up. dump in your tomatoes, and add the ketchup, vinegar and sriracha to taste. i think this stuff is supposed to be rather sweet, but you may prefer to add more vinegar to keep it from seeming candied. turn down the heat to low and simmer, covered, for at least 45 minutes - probably the longer the better. you want the sauce to be thick but not dry. season at the end with salt and pepper.
finish:
cheap ghetto-puffy hamburger buns, toasted
mayo
tater tots
serve your joe on the buns, slathered liberally with mayo. the tots are, culturally, a traditional accompaniment. i think they resemble pre-chewed potato that has been spat, in small mouthfuls, into a deep fryer. some people love 'em. you decide.
makes a lot. serves two for two meals, or four with no leftovers.
spice mix:
cloves
cinnamon
allspice
nutmeg
fennel
coriander
cumin
paprika
quantities QS. i'd say a little lighter on the cumin and coriander, a little heavier on the sweet spices. don't bother roasting anything unless you really are going artisan-sloppy-joe. grind them all up. you should have a few tablespoons of powder.
assembly:
1T olive oil
1/4lb bacon, diced fine
3/4lb ground meat, your choice - pork? veal? horse?
1 large onion, chopped
a few stalks of celery, chopped
a cubanelle pepper or two, chopped - or any other vaguely spicy not-bell pepper
2-3T brown sugar
1 28oz can whole plum tomatoes, cleaned up and pureed or picked apart with fingers
3T ketchup
sriracha
1-2T vinegar
salt
pepper
heat your olive oil in a dutch oven or equivalent over medium heat. render the bacon until beginning to crisp. pull the bacon out and set aside, crank the heat up a bit, and add the diced vegetables. brown for a few minutes until softening. throw in your spice blend and the brown sugar. cook a few more minutes - don't let the sugar scorch. add your ground meat, and stir until broken up. dump in your tomatoes, and add the ketchup, vinegar and sriracha to taste. i think this stuff is supposed to be rather sweet, but you may prefer to add more vinegar to keep it from seeming candied. turn down the heat to low and simmer, covered, for at least 45 minutes - probably the longer the better. you want the sauce to be thick but not dry. season at the end with salt and pepper.
finish:
cheap ghetto-puffy hamburger buns, toasted
mayo
tater tots
serve your joe on the buns, slathered liberally with mayo. the tots are, culturally, a traditional accompaniment. i think they resemble pre-chewed potato that has been spat, in small mouthfuls, into a deep fryer. some people love 'em. you decide.
makes a lot. serves two for two meals, or four with no leftovers.
restaurant: phở horn's
eating well is a terrible trap. for any specific food, one's best experience becomes a baseline against which all other examples are measured. northern virginia has now effectively ruined me for indian, pakistani, pollo a la brasa, korean, and vietnamese - specifically, phở. that said, i went out for phở today for the first time since the move to rhode island. the place - phở horn's (50 ann mary st, pawtucket ri) had looked pretty promising on my previous reconnaissance visit - they had durian shakes on the menu; the clientèle was split down the middle viet - latino. in the interest of further research, i went today for lunch. the cà phê sữa đá was pre-mixed in the back of the house. this is a serious deduction of points, bordering on a disqualification. half the pleasure of vietnamese iced coffee is watching it slowly drip throughout your meal, so that you can mix it yourself as a small and perfect dessert. getting it premixed forces you to either drink it prior to the phở (too weird) or wait and watch the ice melt (too watery). the phở xe lừa (locomotive style, the viet version of "kitchen sink") contained way too much mediocre steak and way too little tripe or tendon. the broth was okay, the garnishes were skimpy - not enough basil, no ngò gai. when i mentioned the lack of interesting meats to the owner, he seemed taken aback - this is the white man's dilemma. i'll write about it in another post. all things considered, it was a good lunch but nowhere near my NoVa baseline.
observation: a "horn" is the little hook sticking out of the o in the word "phở". did the owner of this restaurant really name it after a diacritic mark? because that's fucking awesome.
observation: a "horn" is the little hook sticking out of the o in the word "phở". did the owner of this restaurant really name it after a diacritic mark? because that's fucking awesome.
booze: plymouth gin
plymouth is an excellent gin for disinfecting small cuts, scrapes, and other wounds.
06 November 2007
recipe: thai red curry
this is, after way too much trial and error, probably the best thing i'm capable of making these days. it's difficult to get right at first - i had a lot of issues with not getting the oil to separate correctly. as mama says, it is easy when you know how. i should point out that this makes what is, for most people, a staggeringly hot curry. cut the chili numbers in half if you are unsure of your capacity for really, really spicy food. miranda, i hope you try this out - it's leagues better than what i made in asheville.
paste:
2T finely chopped up lemongrass
1 golfball knob galangal, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3-4 small shallots, peeled
20 - 30 little fresh thai hot peppers (green or red) destemmed
OR
10 long-ish dried thai hots - deseeded!!! also rehydrated and drained
pinch coarse salt
save galangal and lemongrass offcuts (skins and stems). using a food processor or blender, reduce to a textured pulp. you might need to add ~1T stock - try not to add much liquid.
stock:
1/2 - 1C stock (chicken? vegetable?)
offcuts from the galangal and lemongrass
boil together for ~10 minutes, set aside to steep. strain prior to use.
assembly:
1 ~400ml can unhomogenized coconut milk (chaokoh or mae ploy work great - please avoid american brands, they're vastly overpriced and not oily enough)
1-2T coconut oil
1-2 T palm or brown sugar
2-3 T fish sauce
you absolutely must not shake the coconut milk. in fact, make sure to use a can that's been sitting in one position for awhile. open the "bottom" - pour off the coconut water on top into stock. heat coconut cream - there should be a good amount (1/3 to 1/2 the can) with the coconut oil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. a wok works best for this process. the amount of coconut oil you add is really to taste - the hotter the curry, the more oil you should add to coat the mouth. the goal is to "crack" the cream - render out the oils from the solids. it'll stick easily, be careful. don't scorch the solids. it should take about 7 - 10 minutes. this step is what separates the real thing from thin and insipid americanized curries. when fully separated - it looks somewhat like a pile of very greasy ricotta sitting in a pool of clear oil - add the paste. cook, still stirring, until nicely fragrant and slightly darker. add 1T sugar and stir for another minute. add 2T fish sauce and, again, stir for a minute. add stock / coconut water mixture until diluted to taste. set heat to medium.
finish:
~1lb deep-fried tofu cubes or ~1/2lb lean animal protein
1 cup vegetable of choice
1 handful thai basil
1/4 of a lime, juiced
two kaffir lime leaves, cut into very very very thin strands
this part is much more free-form. add protein and vegetables to gently simmering curry in such a way that they'll all be cooked at the same time - make sure they're cut in bite-size pieces. you're on your own with this. it shouldn't take long, no matter what. to finish, squeeze in lime juice, add kaffir lime leaves and adjust seasoning. more sugar? fish sauce? etc. garnish with thai basil, artfully torn or cut.
as a variation, add meat during paste-frying process. if it's medium-quick cooking, i like doing it this way. but not with shrimp or anything that barely needs cooked.
serve over rice (i'm working through a 25lb bag of sticky rice) - three regular portions or two and some leftovers.
tonight's curry happens to be tofu and green pepper...
paste:
2T finely chopped up lemongrass
1 golfball knob galangal, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3-4 small shallots, peeled
20 - 30 little fresh thai hot peppers (green or red) destemmed
OR
10 long-ish dried thai hots - deseeded!!! also rehydrated and drained
pinch coarse salt
save galangal and lemongrass offcuts (skins and stems). using a food processor or blender, reduce to a textured pulp. you might need to add ~1T stock - try not to add much liquid.
stock:
1/2 - 1C stock (chicken? vegetable?)
offcuts from the galangal and lemongrass
boil together for ~10 minutes, set aside to steep. strain prior to use.
assembly:
1 ~400ml can unhomogenized coconut milk (chaokoh or mae ploy work great - please avoid american brands, they're vastly overpriced and not oily enough)
1-2T coconut oil
1-2 T palm or brown sugar
2-3 T fish sauce
you absolutely must not shake the coconut milk. in fact, make sure to use a can that's been sitting in one position for awhile. open the "bottom" - pour off the coconut water on top into stock. heat coconut cream - there should be a good amount (1/3 to 1/2 the can) with the coconut oil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. a wok works best for this process. the amount of coconut oil you add is really to taste - the hotter the curry, the more oil you should add to coat the mouth. the goal is to "crack" the cream - render out the oils from the solids. it'll stick easily, be careful. don't scorch the solids. it should take about 7 - 10 minutes. this step is what separates the real thing from thin and insipid americanized curries. when fully separated - it looks somewhat like a pile of very greasy ricotta sitting in a pool of clear oil - add the paste. cook, still stirring, until nicely fragrant and slightly darker. add 1T sugar and stir for another minute. add 2T fish sauce and, again, stir for a minute. add stock / coconut water mixture until diluted to taste. set heat to medium.
finish:
~1lb deep-fried tofu cubes or ~1/2lb lean animal protein
1 cup vegetable of choice
1 handful thai basil
1/4 of a lime, juiced
two kaffir lime leaves, cut into very very very thin strands
this part is much more free-form. add protein and vegetables to gently simmering curry in such a way that they'll all be cooked at the same time - make sure they're cut in bite-size pieces. you're on your own with this. it shouldn't take long, no matter what. to finish, squeeze in lime juice, add kaffir lime leaves and adjust seasoning. more sugar? fish sauce? etc. garnish with thai basil, artfully torn or cut.
as a variation, add meat during paste-frying process. if it's medium-quick cooking, i like doing it this way. but not with shrimp or anything that barely needs cooked.
serve over rice (i'm working through a 25lb bag of sticky rice) - three regular portions or two and some leftovers.
tonight's curry happens to be tofu and green pepper...
gripe: providence espresso
i'll try to keep this short and sweet. i only really drink one kind of coffee drink, outside of special situations (cà phê sữa đá when i'm eating vietnamese, the very occasional turkish coffee after dinner). i take two shots of espresso, pulled over a cup of ice. it's an iced doppio. the melted ice somewhat mellows the otherwise full-strength espresso. is this a difficult drink to prepare? apparently, the answer is yes. here in providence, when i request my drink - even when i ask for it as a "double espresso over ice" - i receive quite often one of three things:
a) two shots of espresso, properly pulled into the cup of ice, that have then been diluted with several tablespoons of unrequested water
b) four shots of espresso instead of two
c) pre-chilled espresso shots pulled god-knows-when and dumped into a cup of ice
baristas, why is this happening? a "double shot" is not "four shots". and if i wanted water, i'd ask. the third example is inexcusable - espresso deteriorates very, very rapidly. so please - i am a regular customer. and i am not ordering a tall half caf caramel-vanilla macchiato with soy milk. you should be delighted to be making such a simple drink.
a) two shots of espresso, properly pulled into the cup of ice, that have then been diluted with several tablespoons of unrequested water
b) four shots of espresso instead of two
c) pre-chilled espresso shots pulled god-knows-when and dumped into a cup of ice
baristas, why is this happening? a "double shot" is not "four shots". and if i wanted water, i'd ask. the third example is inexcusable - espresso deteriorates very, very rapidly. so please - i am a regular customer. and i am not ordering a tall half caf caramel-vanilla macchiato with soy milk. you should be delighted to be making such a simple drink.
05 November 2007
restaurant: memphis roadhouse
the south has, culturally speaking, almost nothing to offer the world-wise northerner. "soul food", especially in the north, is either prepared daintily with luxe ingredients (for an affluent, mostly white clientele) or poorly and with too much margarine and salt (for, you know, urban blacks). neither one ever tastes right, which sucks, because it's really cucina povera and it's really very good. but this little review isn't about soul food, it's about barbeque - the other thing, potentially, the south has to offer. as any novice food-eater knows, good barbeque is indicated by confederate flags, fake wood paneling, cheap vinyl seats, sweet tea, and awful white bread. bonus points if the pitmaster is actually a bigot. i fully expect to be given the "oh man, another northern fag" look when i walk into a proper parlor. it reminds me that they're proud of their heritage.
memphis roadhouse (383 washington ave, attleboro MA) doesn't have any of these indicators. it has crazy crap on the walls - more pictures of heritage cattle breeds than applebee's, at least. it has polite northern waitresses. it is unpleasantly overpriced. and yet, this was my second visit (i'm all-or-nothing when it comes to returning to restaurants). the fact is, i don't understand why they have such - and it pains me to say it - good ribs. their barbeque sauce is inedible, their french fries are skimpy ($5 for a demure pile?) and their cornbread full of sugar ("one day your kids will be eatin' cornbread that's sweet and drinkin' iced tea that ain't and think that's a southern tradition"). but the ribs. dry, mind you, not slathered in that unmentionable sauce. on an absolute scale, i make no claims. but for southern MA they're way better than we deserve. skip everything else on the menu (giant margaritas? jalapeno poppers? wings?) and get a rack of ribs. that's about all you need to know.
i was going to insert some sort of letter grade or forks or nonsense like that but that's not me. i guess i'm not that kind of critic.
memphis roadhouse (383 washington ave, attleboro MA) doesn't have any of these indicators. it has crazy crap on the walls - more pictures of heritage cattle breeds than applebee's, at least. it has polite northern waitresses. it is unpleasantly overpriced. and yet, this was my second visit (i'm all-or-nothing when it comes to returning to restaurants). the fact is, i don't understand why they have such - and it pains me to say it - good ribs. their barbeque sauce is inedible, their french fries are skimpy ($5 for a demure pile?) and their cornbread full of sugar ("one day your kids will be eatin' cornbread that's sweet and drinkin' iced tea that ain't and think that's a southern tradition"). but the ribs. dry, mind you, not slathered in that unmentionable sauce. on an absolute scale, i make no claims. but for southern MA they're way better than we deserve. skip everything else on the menu (giant margaritas? jalapeno poppers? wings?) and get a rack of ribs. that's about all you need to know.
i was going to insert some sort of letter grade or forks or nonsense like that but that's not me. i guess i'm not that kind of critic.
recipe: not-really-pad-thai
readers, i am getting lazy already. this was last night's dinner - for some reason, i always imagined pad thai to be out of a white man's reach. it's not. it's very easy to make. if you don't have any nice lao sausages to render the fat out of, just use coconut oil. or, hell, canola oil. but coconut is a lot better.
tamarind paste:
a hunk of tamarind pulp the size of a key lime
3T water
break up the pulp a bit in a bowl with the water. let sit for fifteen minutes, then methodically reduce to a paste with your fingers. throw out all the seedpod and fiber bits.
sauce:
3T sugar
1T kecip manis (you could just use another T of sugar, but your finished dish will look a little wan)
4T fish sauce
2T tamarind paste
heat the sugar, kecip manis, and fish sauce until the sugar is melted. when cool, add the paste.
assembly:
a large handful of pad thai noodles (they're a pretty specific size of rice noodle)
2 little lao sausages, removed from their casings and crumbled
1T coconut oil (or about 2T if you don't use any sausage)
1 small onion, or a handful of shallots, diced
some bean sprouts (a handful?)
a few mustard green stems-and-leaves, separated and chopped
2 eggs
start some water for the noodles. when it's boiling, they'll take about five minutes to cook. meanwhile, heat the oil in your wok until medium-hot. add the sausages and render all the fat out of them. should take about ten minutes. if they stick too much, add a bit of water or stock. once the oil is rendered and they're nicely browned, remove the meat and all but about a tablespoon and a half of oil (save the leftover oil, it's pretty tasty). throw your onion (or shallots), mustard stems, and bean sprouts into the wok, and stir-fry for a few minutes. when they're pleasantly brown (your noodles have to be cooked by now), crack your eggs into the wok and scramble for a few seconds. add your mustard greens, toss in the noodles and do your best to amalgamate them with everything else. i still have trouble with that part. finally, add your sauce and cook for maybe another thirty seconds.
finish:
ground peanuts
lime quarters
bean sprouts
sriracha
those little rendered sausage bits you saved, if you used sausage
serve your faux pad thai with all of those things available as toppings.
serves two, but you'll eat more of it than you expect. probably no leftovers
tamarind paste:
a hunk of tamarind pulp the size of a key lime
3T water
break up the pulp a bit in a bowl with the water. let sit for fifteen minutes, then methodically reduce to a paste with your fingers. throw out all the seedpod and fiber bits.
sauce:
3T sugar
1T kecip manis (you could just use another T of sugar, but your finished dish will look a little wan)
4T fish sauce
2T tamarind paste
heat the sugar, kecip manis, and fish sauce until the sugar is melted. when cool, add the paste.
assembly:
a large handful of pad thai noodles (they're a pretty specific size of rice noodle)
2 little lao sausages, removed from their casings and crumbled
1T coconut oil (or about 2T if you don't use any sausage)
1 small onion, or a handful of shallots, diced
some bean sprouts (a handful?)
a few mustard green stems-and-leaves, separated and chopped
2 eggs
start some water for the noodles. when it's boiling, they'll take about five minutes to cook. meanwhile, heat the oil in your wok until medium-hot. add the sausages and render all the fat out of them. should take about ten minutes. if they stick too much, add a bit of water or stock. once the oil is rendered and they're nicely browned, remove the meat and all but about a tablespoon and a half of oil (save the leftover oil, it's pretty tasty). throw your onion (or shallots), mustard stems, and bean sprouts into the wok, and stir-fry for a few minutes. when they're pleasantly brown (your noodles have to be cooked by now), crack your eggs into the wok and scramble for a few seconds. add your mustard greens, toss in the noodles and do your best to amalgamate them with everything else. i still have trouble with that part. finally, add your sauce and cook for maybe another thirty seconds.
finish:
ground peanuts
lime quarters
bean sprouts
sriracha
those little rendered sausage bits you saved, if you used sausage
serve your faux pad thai with all of those things available as toppings.
serves two, but you'll eat more of it than you expect. probably no leftovers
03 November 2007
recipe: sauteed mustard greens
an overwhelmingly simple side dish that i could eat almost every day. fresh, fresh, fresh greens are vital. the lao market was pushing mustard greens very hard, and every other customer was buying a bunch. who am i to say no?
assembly:
1/2 a giant bunch (1 reasonable handful?) greens, stems separated from leaves, all chopped coarse
olive oil
a handful of shallots, or one small onion, chopped fine
1 thai hot red pepper, fresh or dried
salt
pepper
heat the olive oil pretty hot in a wok/karhai/etc. when almost smoking, throw in your shallots, stems, and pepper. saute until stems are just beginning to soften and shallots are starting to brown. shouldn't be more than two or three minutes. add your reserved leaves and stir constantly. season lightly with salt and heavily with pepper. don't overcook your greens! you want these to end up the same color they started, not washed out and drab.
finish:
vermouth? balsamic? sherry?
when your greens are just almost exactly cooked, throw in a splash of your liquid of choice. don't let the steam burn your face. when it's cooked down (twenty seconds?), it's done.
doesn't make a ton. two as a side dish. be careful eating the pepper.
assembly:
1/2 a giant bunch (1 reasonable handful?) greens, stems separated from leaves, all chopped coarse
olive oil
a handful of shallots, or one small onion, chopped fine
1 thai hot red pepper, fresh or dried
salt
pepper
heat the olive oil pretty hot in a wok/karhai/etc. when almost smoking, throw in your shallots, stems, and pepper. saute until stems are just beginning to soften and shallots are starting to brown. shouldn't be more than two or three minutes. add your reserved leaves and stir constantly. season lightly with salt and heavily with pepper. don't overcook your greens! you want these to end up the same color they started, not washed out and drab.
finish:
vermouth? balsamic? sherry?
when your greens are just almost exactly cooked, throw in a splash of your liquid of choice. don't let the steam burn your face. when it's cooked down (twenty seconds?), it's done.
doesn't make a ton. two as a side dish. be careful eating the pepper.
recipe: macaroni and cheese
another comfort food dinner for an ugly night - dregs of a hurricane moving up the coast. 45 and rainy all day. mama, if she reads this, will be disappointed to see that this is a bechamel mac and cheese. i was raised in a custard-based mac and cheese family, so this is a bit apostate.
assembly:
12oz pasta
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 green cayenne peppers, chopped fine (they were kicking around the fridge; they're not vital)
3 T butter
2 T flour
2 C milk or cream or a mixture (i used up the rest of the light cream in the fridge)
1 T dijon mustard
salt
pepper
1/2lb sharp cheddar, grated (or whatever you have lying around; don't use crappy cheese)
preheat your oven to 450*. start a pot of salted water boiling. cook your pasta while you're making the sauce - cook it a little harder than al dente. anyhow. heat the butter in a medium saucepan. fry the onion and peppers until softened and beginning to caramelize. add the flour and cook a minute or two, until barely beginning to brown. add the milk in two steps, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly between additions. once the bechamel is beginning to thicken add the mustard, followed by the cheese. turn off the the heat - stir until the cheese is fully melted. season to taste. stir in your drained pasta.
finish:
1/4lb sharp cheddar, grated
1/2C panko
salt
pepper
mix your topping together. dump your sauced pasta into whatever oven-safe baking dish you have to hand. top. bake in your preheated oven until nicely browned on top - about 20 minutes, give or take. don't burn your mouth.
serves two, with leftovers.
assembly:
12oz pasta
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 green cayenne peppers, chopped fine (they were kicking around the fridge; they're not vital)
3 T butter
2 T flour
2 C milk or cream or a mixture (i used up the rest of the light cream in the fridge)
1 T dijon mustard
salt
pepper
1/2lb sharp cheddar, grated (or whatever you have lying around; don't use crappy cheese)
preheat your oven to 450*. start a pot of salted water boiling. cook your pasta while you're making the sauce - cook it a little harder than al dente. anyhow. heat the butter in a medium saucepan. fry the onion and peppers until softened and beginning to caramelize. add the flour and cook a minute or two, until barely beginning to brown. add the milk in two steps, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly between additions. once the bechamel is beginning to thicken add the mustard, followed by the cheese. turn off the the heat - stir until the cheese is fully melted. season to taste. stir in your drained pasta.
finish:
1/4lb sharp cheddar, grated
1/2C panko
salt
pepper
mix your topping together. dump your sauced pasta into whatever oven-safe baking dish you have to hand. top. bake in your preheated oven until nicely browned on top - about 20 minutes, give or take. don't burn your mouth.
serves two, with leftovers.
02 November 2007
food bullshit: first date foods
yahoo, it seems, is doing its best to help get this blog off to a running start - they've frontpaged a second very stupid article in as many days. entitled "4 fool-proof date foods", these "foxy" women want to encourage you to show off how amazing your taste is by taking your date out for
a) sushi
b) tapas
c) "pasta"
or
d) moroccan
let's very quickly run down the reasons these are all pathetic ideas
a) sushi is about ten years behind the "adventurous" cutting-edge. it's mall food now, fast food, thoughtless food. and, sad to say, the vast majority of sushi served in the US sucks. cheap rice, listless fish, "spicy" mayo or cream cheese or god knows what else on every gargantuan roll. unless you live in a city with utterly first-rate sushi (oh seattle, i miss you) and are willing to spend at least $150 on your date before drinks or gratuity, don't bother. going out for sushi says "look how wild and crazy i am - can you believe they eat raw fish over there?"
b) "tapas" does not mean what these young women think it means. americans appropriated the word from the spanish because restaurateurs wanted to convince people that they should buy several appetizer portions instead of entrees. customers thought this was a great idea, because it felt like they were eating less. most restaurants in the US that advertise "tapas" offer, relative to the original, gigantic plates of mediocre "spanish" food. the ideal of tapas (or pintxos, which we should rightfully be calling them, as a basque innovation) is a single ingredient at peak flavor, served simply and accompanied by very good cheap red wine or cider (or adjunct-laden shitty spanish beer). going out for "tapas" says "maybe you'll only order a plate or two, and i can try to get you drunk on the house rioja"
c) are there "pasta" restaurants in heartland america? have i missed out on a brave new culinary movement? is ferran adria involved? wait. i think they just mean you should take your date to olive garden. going out for "pasta" says "at least we're not going to wendy's"
d) where in the world do these people think you can reliably find good moroccan food? there hasn't been a meaningful moroccan diaspora to the states, therefore no moroccan restaurants serving food for moroccans, therefore only shitty faux-roccan designed to reassure the skittish american diner that they can eat "brave" "exotic" food and live to tell about it. you want to take your date out for hands-only dining? fine. ethiopian. lao. pakistani. is the clientèle overwhelmingly of that ethnicity? did the server try to dissuade you from ordering something? are you getting stared at by other customers? good. maybe you'll actually impress your date. going out for "moroccan" says "i have no idea where people who aren't white go to eat around here"
thanks, yahoo. glad i got that out of my system.
a) sushi
b) tapas
c) "pasta"
or
d) moroccan
let's very quickly run down the reasons these are all pathetic ideas
a) sushi is about ten years behind the "adventurous" cutting-edge. it's mall food now, fast food, thoughtless food. and, sad to say, the vast majority of sushi served in the US sucks. cheap rice, listless fish, "spicy" mayo or cream cheese or god knows what else on every gargantuan roll. unless you live in a city with utterly first-rate sushi (oh seattle, i miss you) and are willing to spend at least $150 on your date before drinks or gratuity, don't bother. going out for sushi says "look how wild and crazy i am - can you believe they eat raw fish over there?"
b) "tapas" does not mean what these young women think it means. americans appropriated the word from the spanish because restaurateurs wanted to convince people that they should buy several appetizer portions instead of entrees. customers thought this was a great idea, because it felt like they were eating less. most restaurants in the US that advertise "tapas" offer, relative to the original, gigantic plates of mediocre "spanish" food. the ideal of tapas (or pintxos, which we should rightfully be calling them, as a basque innovation) is a single ingredient at peak flavor, served simply and accompanied by very good cheap red wine or cider (or adjunct-laden shitty spanish beer). going out for "tapas" says "maybe you'll only order a plate or two, and i can try to get you drunk on the house rioja"
c) are there "pasta" restaurants in heartland america? have i missed out on a brave new culinary movement? is ferran adria involved? wait. i think they just mean you should take your date to olive garden. going out for "pasta" says "at least we're not going to wendy's"
d) where in the world do these people think you can reliably find good moroccan food? there hasn't been a meaningful moroccan diaspora to the states, therefore no moroccan restaurants serving food for moroccans, therefore only shitty faux-roccan designed to reassure the skittish american diner that they can eat "brave" "exotic" food and live to tell about it. you want to take your date out for hands-only dining? fine. ethiopian. lao. pakistani. is the clientèle overwhelmingly of that ethnicity? did the server try to dissuade you from ordering something? are you getting stared at by other customers? good. maybe you'll actually impress your date. going out for "moroccan" says "i have no idea where people who aren't white go to eat around here"
thanks, yahoo. glad i got that out of my system.
recipe: tonkatsu with cole slaw
this is one of the least skillful dinners that i ever make, and i'm almost embarrassed to post it online. however, on a cold fall night there is something particularly compelling about postwar japanese comfort food. i'm not even sure i should include a recipe - doesn't everyone know how to cut, flatten, and fry pork cutlets, make cole slaw, and steam rice? the secret ingredient, of course, is bulldog tonkatsu sauce, available at your local asian market. if you're never had tonkatsu, the sauce tastes like a thin steak sauce - maybe a bit more pruney.
nostalgic tangent: as a young child i used to make aspecial dipping sauce for my french fries whenever we'd go to hoss's. half steak sauce and half ketchup. for some reason, it's a very evocative taste.
anyhow.
tonkatsu:
3/4lb boneless pork, divided into small cutlets and flattened
milk
flour
panko
salt
pepper
neutral oil
dip cutlets into milk, flour, milk, and panko. make sure to press the panko on firmly, as it's not particularly adherent. i don't like using egg on my cutlets, but you're certainly allowed to. fry individually in plenty of hot oil, turning once. don't overcook.
coleslaw:
1/3 of a small head of cabbage
1 large carrot
mayonnaise
cream
sriracha
honey
vinegar
salt
pepper
.........make dressing out of the things that look dressing-y and cut up the things that look vegetable-y. i like my cabbage shredded and my carrot microplaned. it's coleslaw. follow your own personal guidelines.
serve with plenty of rice and tonkatsu sauce. serves two, with a little leftover.
nostalgic tangent: as a young child i used to make aspecial dipping sauce for my french fries whenever we'd go to hoss's. half steak sauce and half ketchup. for some reason, it's a very evocative taste.
anyhow.
tonkatsu:
3/4lb boneless pork, divided into small cutlets and flattened
milk
flour
panko
salt
pepper
neutral oil
dip cutlets into milk, flour, milk, and panko. make sure to press the panko on firmly, as it's not particularly adherent. i don't like using egg on my cutlets, but you're certainly allowed to. fry individually in plenty of hot oil, turning once. don't overcook.
coleslaw:
1/3 of a small head of cabbage
1 large carrot
mayonnaise
cream
sriracha
honey
vinegar
salt
pepper
.........make dressing out of the things that look dressing-y and cut up the things that look vegetable-y. i like my cabbage shredded and my carrot microplaned. it's coleslaw. follow your own personal guidelines.
serve with plenty of rice and tonkatsu sauce. serves two, with a little leftover.
01 November 2007
food bullshit: the "red wine headache"
so yahoo has an article up about technology being developed to save drinkers from "red wine headache". i'm adding this to my growing mental file of "ridiculous things people believe about the things they consume". unfortunately, of course, i don't have any evidence to prove that the red wine headache is bullshit. in fact, i'm sure that there are poorly made wines out there that contain various unpleasant or hard to metabolize compounds; i'm equally sure that consuming too much of any wine, lousy or grand cru, will give you not only a raging headache but also all the other signs of excessive alcohol consumption. but i don't think that people have suddenly developed this "sensitivity" to omnipresent compounds, nor do i believe that it's something that we as a culture should be wasting our time on.
let's not be stupid here, people - we don't need "amine content" listed on our wine bottles, we just need a little common sense and moderation.
let's not be stupid here, people - we don't need "amine content" listed on our wine bottles, we just need a little common sense and moderation.
ingredient: san marzano tomatoes
for someone who gets as snatty about ingredients as i do, i have a terrible confession to make. i've been using lousy canned tomatoes for years now, and i've just recently realized the error of my ways. yes, trader joe's whole canned tomatoes are $0.99 a can. and yes, the can of D.O.P san marzanos i bought today at venda were $2.99. honestly, though, the san marzanos are more than three times better. my previous canned tomatoes were fibrous, often blemished, and sour/insipid. these san marzanos are silky, tender, and a treat for the fingers. they also disintegrate far more readily in a sauce.
i realize i'm about ten years behind the cutting edge on this one, but better late than never. now i can add another picky arrow to my already full quiver. the question remains whether or not i can budget for this sudden increase in cost. you, readers, will be the first to know.
i realize i'm about ten years behind the cutting edge on this one, but better late than never. now i can add another picky arrow to my already full quiver. the question remains whether or not i can budget for this sudden increase in cost. you, readers, will be the first to know.
recipe: italian sausage
this is fast becoming a staple meal here in providence, probably due to the exceptionally high-quality fresh sausage available up on federal hill. i'm thrilled to bite into a rustic sausage and actually see recognizable pieces of shoulder muscle. anyhow, this is one of those staggeringly simple dishes that tons of people seem to fuck up. i couldn't explain why. maybe they're just using cheap ingredients.
assembly:
1lb sweet italian sausage, poked to prevent explosion if it's linked particularly tightly, otherwise don't bother
olive oil
a few peppers, coarsely chopped (i've been getting ones from the lao market down the street - they look like green cayennes, i suppose, but i can't be sure. i don't read lao, and the grandma who runs the produce section doesn't speak english)
a handful of shallots, cleaned and chopped a little
a few cloves of garlic
1/2tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp oregano
about 1/4C wine (i used vermouth tonight, just because it was what i had on hand)
1 28oz can of whole tomatoes, cleaned up and mushed up with their accompanying juice
heat up a little olive oil in your wok/karhai/dutch oven over really hot heat. i know you should be using something with a higher flash point, but i don't. smoke's fine, just don't let it turn into a grease fire. once it's good and hot, add your sausage and sear until it's nice and brown on the outside. harold mcgee has debunked the whole "you sear meat to lock in juices" thing, so you're just doing this for flavor. don't let it scorch, but don't cook it slowly or you'll just make the sausage less tender later. once they're nice and brown, pull them out with tongs and set aside. throw a bit more olive oil in the pan, and toss in your peppers and shallots. cook over hight heat until softened and beginning to caramelize. here too, quicker is better. once they're pretty brown, add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook for another minute. don't let the garlic turn into tiny black pellets. deglaze with your wine, dump in the prepped tomatoes, add the sausage back in, let it boil for a few seconds, turn down the heat to very very low, cover with a lid ajar, and walk away. cook for awhile. i don't know, maybe 45 minutes. the sauce should reduce, thicken, and a little oil should rise to the top.
finish:
sugar (only if the tomatoes you used suck)
salt
black pepper
basil or parsley
add your seasonings, garnish, and serve with whatever starch seems appropriate.
serves two, with leftovers.
assembly:
1lb sweet italian sausage, poked to prevent explosion if it's linked particularly tightly, otherwise don't bother
olive oil
a few peppers, coarsely chopped (i've been getting ones from the lao market down the street - they look like green cayennes, i suppose, but i can't be sure. i don't read lao, and the grandma who runs the produce section doesn't speak english)
a handful of shallots, cleaned and chopped a little
a few cloves of garlic
1/2tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp oregano
about 1/4C wine (i used vermouth tonight, just because it was what i had on hand)
1 28oz can of whole tomatoes, cleaned up and mushed up with their accompanying juice
heat up a little olive oil in your wok/karhai/dutch oven over really hot heat. i know you should be using something with a higher flash point, but i don't. smoke's fine, just don't let it turn into a grease fire. once it's good and hot, add your sausage and sear until it's nice and brown on the outside. harold mcgee has debunked the whole "you sear meat to lock in juices" thing, so you're just doing this for flavor. don't let it scorch, but don't cook it slowly or you'll just make the sausage less tender later. once they're nice and brown, pull them out with tongs and set aside. throw a bit more olive oil in the pan, and toss in your peppers and shallots. cook over hight heat until softened and beginning to caramelize. here too, quicker is better. once they're pretty brown, add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook for another minute. don't let the garlic turn into tiny black pellets. deglaze with your wine, dump in the prepped tomatoes, add the sausage back in, let it boil for a few seconds, turn down the heat to very very low, cover with a lid ajar, and walk away. cook for awhile. i don't know, maybe 45 minutes. the sauce should reduce, thicken, and a little oil should rise to the top.
finish:
sugar (only if the tomatoes you used suck)
salt
black pepper
basil or parsley
add your seasonings, garnish, and serve with whatever starch seems appropriate.
serves two, with leftovers.
31 October 2007
recipe: steak tartare sandwiches
i started making these as a reaction to the extortionate price of roast beef at who(le)fo(ods) - i just don't think whofo is justified in charging $14 for top round. as a side dish, i impulse-bought a bag of kettle "buffalo bleu" chips. in case you're curious, they taste like very slightly cheesy barbeque potato chips. very little of the hot/sour snap i was expecting. but perhaps my taste for heat doesn't reflect that of the general consuming public. they were certainly edible.
assembly:
~2/3lb beef flesh - buy a pound if it's bone-in, or particularly fatty
1T dijon mustard
2tsp ketchup
a few shallots, diced fine
a few cornichons, same dice
a small dash of fish sauce (since i didn't have any anchovies on hand - it works awfully well)
about an ounce of liquor - i used gin tonight, mostly because i have a bottle of undrinkable plymouth to work through. cognac would, i'm sure, be preferable
1/4C mild olive oil
1 egg yolk
salt
pepper
sriracha (to taste - i cannot find enough uses for this condiment)
trim and then dice the meat as finely as possible, then dice it again and again and again. the finer you can go, the happier you'll be. then simply mix it with everything else in a small bowl.
finish:
toasted bread
finely sliced sweet onion
chopped avocado
leaf lettuce
you know. make sandwiches.
serves two large sandwiches.
assembly:
~2/3lb beef flesh - buy a pound if it's bone-in, or particularly fatty
1T dijon mustard
2tsp ketchup
a few shallots, diced fine
a few cornichons, same dice
a small dash of fish sauce (since i didn't have any anchovies on hand - it works awfully well)
about an ounce of liquor - i used gin tonight, mostly because i have a bottle of undrinkable plymouth to work through. cognac would, i'm sure, be preferable
1/4C mild olive oil
1 egg yolk
salt
pepper
sriracha (to taste - i cannot find enough uses for this condiment)
trim and then dice the meat as finely as possible, then dice it again and again and again. the finer you can go, the happier you'll be. then simply mix it with everything else in a small bowl.
finish:
toasted bread
finely sliced sweet onion
chopped avocado
leaf lettuce
you know. make sandwiches.
serves two large sandwiches.
beer: theakston old peculier
i picked up, on a total whim, a six of theakston old peculier the other day at the very nice liquor store serving the affluent brown community (campus fine wines). it's a pretty old-style yorkshire ale, really dark and murky. nice malty character and pleasantly understated hops. drinkable, and definitely preferable to other industrial brown ales out there. you know the ones i'm talking about.
paired well with the curry - the cream i finished it with made it taste particularly anglo-indian, i suppose. i'd buy this again, though $10 a six is somewhat steep.
paired well with the curry - the cream i finished it with made it taste particularly anglo-indian, i suppose. i'd buy this again, though $10 a six is somewhat steep.
recipe: somewhat subcontinental curry
so, the point of this blog is (mostly) for me to keep track of what i've been eating and drinking - whether or not various foods were worth cooking, liquids worth drinking, or restaurants worth visiting. if i end up cooking something worth eating, i'll post a recipe. and hell, if i get my digital camera working i might even post some poorly-formatted pictures. but then i'd have to start worrying about garnishes and reductions and coulis and whatnot. i wouldn't want my homemade dinners to look chintzy.
anyhow. i made what is basically my indian-template curry last night. i don't think i have any cookbooks that are accurate enough for central or north indian dishes. so this is a bit of a mutt. tasty, though.
masala:
coriander seed
cumin
fenugreek
cloves
cardamom
nutmeg
cinnamon
star anise
dried chili (some old farmers' market cayennes that i had kicking around)
turmeric
toast everything but the turmeric in a dry karhai/wok/equivalent. if you're anal and have the patience of a saint, toast each individually. i throw the chilis in a little earlier and then just toast everything together. you want toasty, not burnt. and i am dearly sorry for saying that all quantities are QS - i'd estimate they vary from a tablespoon of coriander seed to a single star anise pod. you know - don't be stupid, realize which spices are liable to take over. i just don't have the enthusiasm to measure everything. oh, and these are all whole spices. you can't toast powders. speaking of powder, i've been using dried whole turmeric rhizomes for awhile now. they're harder then hell and always seem half a step away from breaking the spice grinder, but i like them. feel free to substitute powder. anyhow, grind your turmeric first, add all the toasted spices to the mill, and grind to a powder. you should end up with a few tablespoons of masala.
paste:
several shallots
a few cloves of garlic
a few fresh green chilis
a knob of ginger
easy. reduce to a paste in a small capacity food processor. or take half an hour to finely mince/mash/mortar into a really well-textured paste. again, i don't have the patience.
assembly:
2-3T coconut oil (though you could use a more neutral oil if you want; i like the saturated mouthfeel and flavor of coconut oil a lot)
black mustard seeds
1 28oz can of whole plum tomatoes, cleaned and pureed in the food processor
about 1T jaggery or brown sugar or any other less-refined sugar (no honey or maple please)
a few medium - small potatoes, cubed
a small eggplant, cubed to a similar size
half a boneless/skinless chicken breast, also cubed
a handful of mustard greens, chopped and stem parts separated from leaf parts
heat the oil in your karhai/wok/whatever. medium-high heat. throw in the mustard seeds, let them sputter and pop and turn grey. put a lid on for this step unless you enjoy being hit by very, very hot and greasy tiny seeds. once they're grey, dump in your paste and start frying it. after a few minutes, it should be slightly lower in volume, a little darker, and starting to throw off a little oil. add the entirety of your masala, the sugar, and the potato and eggplant. fry for a few minutes, then add the pureed tomatoes. turn down the heat, cover, and simmer quietly for half an hour or 45 minutes - as long as it takes to soften the potatoes. about ten minutes before you're ready to serve, stir in the cubed chicken and the mustard stems.
finish:
1 cup cream
salt
coriander leaves
directly before serving, add the cream and the reserved mustard greens. cook for a minute or two, just to heat. salt to taste. garnish with coriander, unless you think it's unpleasantly soapy.
serve with basmati and some sort of flatbread. don't tell anyone, but i've been using trader joe's whole wheat handmade tortillas as a stand-in chapati (heated over an open flame until toasty).
serves four without leftovers, or two with abundant leftovers.
anyhow. i made what is basically my indian-template curry last night. i don't think i have any cookbooks that are accurate enough for central or north indian dishes. so this is a bit of a mutt. tasty, though.
masala:
coriander seed
cumin
fenugreek
cloves
cardamom
nutmeg
cinnamon
star anise
dried chili (some old farmers' market cayennes that i had kicking around)
turmeric
toast everything but the turmeric in a dry karhai/wok/equivalent. if you're anal and have the patience of a saint, toast each individually. i throw the chilis in a little earlier and then just toast everything together. you want toasty, not burnt. and i am dearly sorry for saying that all quantities are QS - i'd estimate they vary from a tablespoon of coriander seed to a single star anise pod. you know - don't be stupid, realize which spices are liable to take over. i just don't have the enthusiasm to measure everything. oh, and these are all whole spices. you can't toast powders. speaking of powder, i've been using dried whole turmeric rhizomes for awhile now. they're harder then hell and always seem half a step away from breaking the spice grinder, but i like them. feel free to substitute powder. anyhow, grind your turmeric first, add all the toasted spices to the mill, and grind to a powder. you should end up with a few tablespoons of masala.
paste:
several shallots
a few cloves of garlic
a few fresh green chilis
a knob of ginger
easy. reduce to a paste in a small capacity food processor. or take half an hour to finely mince/mash/mortar into a really well-textured paste. again, i don't have the patience.
assembly:
2-3T coconut oil (though you could use a more neutral oil if you want; i like the saturated mouthfeel and flavor of coconut oil a lot)
black mustard seeds
1 28oz can of whole plum tomatoes, cleaned and pureed in the food processor
about 1T jaggery or brown sugar or any other less-refined sugar (no honey or maple please)
a few medium - small potatoes, cubed
a small eggplant, cubed to a similar size
half a boneless/skinless chicken breast, also cubed
a handful of mustard greens, chopped and stem parts separated from leaf parts
heat the oil in your karhai/wok/whatever. medium-high heat. throw in the mustard seeds, let them sputter and pop and turn grey. put a lid on for this step unless you enjoy being hit by very, very hot and greasy tiny seeds. once they're grey, dump in your paste and start frying it. after a few minutes, it should be slightly lower in volume, a little darker, and starting to throw off a little oil. add the entirety of your masala, the sugar, and the potato and eggplant. fry for a few minutes, then add the pureed tomatoes. turn down the heat, cover, and simmer quietly for half an hour or 45 minutes - as long as it takes to soften the potatoes. about ten minutes before you're ready to serve, stir in the cubed chicken and the mustard stems.
finish:
1 cup cream
salt
coriander leaves
directly before serving, add the cream and the reserved mustard greens. cook for a minute or two, just to heat. salt to taste. garnish with coriander, unless you think it's unpleasantly soapy.
serve with basmati and some sort of flatbread. don't tell anyone, but i've been using trader joe's whole wheat handmade tortillas as a stand-in chapati (heated over an open flame until toasty).
serves four without leftovers, or two with abundant leftovers.
*taps mic*
ahh, what could be less appealing than a new blog? gentle reader, i assure you this is entirely a passing fancy. perhaps you should stare at the ceiling and count tiles or something.
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